Emirates Aluminium (Emal), the joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminium (Dubal) announced on 24 July it has been given approval for an expansion plan that will make it the world’s largest single-site aluminium producer.

The company’s board of directors has approved the phase two expansion, a $4,5bn project that will more than double capacity from its current 750,000 tonnes a year (t/y) to 1.3 million t/y by 2014.

The current Emal smelter is the first tenant of the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) in Taweelah, the emerging industrial park that is to become the main stage for Abu Dhabi’s diversification away from a hydrocarbon-based economy.

According to reports, Mubadala is considering taking a stake in Dubal, whose smelter in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone has a capacity of one million t/y. The merger would create the world’s largest aluminium producer.