The UAE’s Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) employs about 6,750 people, 20 per cent of whom are nationals. Its two aluminium operations are forecast to make a direct contribution of $3bn to the country’s GDP by 2020, with gross exports of $7bn.

Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) was the UAE’s first aluminium smelter. Located in Jebel Ali, construction began in 1976. Production began in January 1980. The smelter had three potlines and a capacity of 135,000 tonnes a year (t/y).

The facility has been expanded into one of the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelters. Its smelter today has a capacity of 1 million t/y and its cast house 1.2 million t/y. The site also includes a carbon house, a 2,350MW power plant, a desalination plant and a dock.

The first phase of the Emirates Aluminium (Emal) site began operating ahead of schedule in 2009, while phase two started up in mid-2014.

Emal has three potlines and a hot metal capacity of 1.32 million t/y. Its cast house can handle 1.8 million t/y, the carbon facility has a greenmill capacity of 1.08 million t/y and 700,000 t/y of baked anodes.

In October 2014, a consortium of UAE-based Petrofac Emirates and US group Bechtel won a contract to build a $3bn alumina refinery in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi.