Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) has formally announced the formation of Dubal Holding.

The company will manage ICD’s 50 per cent share in Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), an entity created following the merger of Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) and Emirates Aluminium Limited (Emal).

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al-Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai and UAE finance minister is chairman and Saeed Mohammad Ahmad al-Tayer is vice chairman. The other board members are Khalifa Hassan Abdullah al-Daboos; Abdul Wahid Mohammad al-Fahim and Hilal Khalfan bin Dhaher. Abdul Nasser bin Kalban is the CEO.

Dubal Holding will be Dubai government’s industrial, energy and commodities investment company and will support the Dubai 2030 Integrated Energy Strategy as part of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy.

MEED reported in early October that Dubal Holding is competing in the tender for the coal-fired Hassyan independent power project (IPP) in the emirate.

The Hassyan IPP is Dubal Holding’s first foray into the private power developer market. Dubal Holding has joined up with China’s Meiya Power for the Hassyan tender, and is one of the eight groups prequalified to participate in the tender. The prequalification of the group for the IPP tender has surprised many in the power development market, with little known about the entity.

The Hassyan IPP will have a capacity of 1,200MW, with the client, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa), having set a commissioning date of March 2020 for the first 600MW unit in the coal plant and the second 600MW set to come on stream 12 months later.

Dewa recently extended the deadline for the prequalified consortiums to submit bids to 26 January 2015, a two-month extension on the initial 26 November deadline.