Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (Adbic) plans to hire a financial adviser for its $1.5bn aluminium rolling mill project in Taweelah.

Several banks have been contacted about the deal, and the sponsor has asked for bid submissions to be made by the first week of July. Adbic is still in talks with an international investor to join the project as joint venture partner.

The project will involve the construction of a 500,000 tonnes a year plant at the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone in Taweelah. Banks contacted by Adbic say the company is looking to quickly appoint an adviser.

Adbic hopes to award contracts and break ground on the scheme by early 2011, so it will have to move fast to get the financing in place by that time.

The scheme is part of Adbic’s plans to develop the downstream aluminium sector in the emirate. It will be one of the largest aluminium rolling mills constructed in the last 20 years outside China. It is also building an aluminium extrusion plant with Dubai-based Gulf Extrusions, and an aluminium rod plant with Bahrain’s Midal Cables.

The UK’s Royal Bank of Scotland was appointed as financial adviser on the expansion of the Emirates Aluminium (Emal) plant at Taweelah in early June. The Adbic schemes will be offtakers from the Emal plant. Emal is a sponsored by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminium.