Alabbar said that the expansion was being driven by Dubal's efforts to maximise space availability at its Jebel Ali smelter and upgrade existing technology. 'The expansion will be carried out for strategic reasons. It will be implemented at a low cost,' Alabbar said. 'We will work out the precise cost and the project schedule after the plan is approved. This will be the first phase of our expansion.'

The new expansion is separate from the company's Heron project, which calls for the addition of 350,000-400,000 t/y of new capacity. At present, Dubal produces about 536,000 t/y of primary aluminium (MEED 11:2:00).