Oman Aluminium Rolling Company (OARC) has started commissioning its rolling mill in Sohar, northern Oman, after the construction phase was completed earlier this year.

The $388m project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, Italy’s Fata, handed over the plant in August for OARC to start ramping up production.

“This critical step [of reaching initial acceptance] demonstrated that each individual piece of equipment met design specifications,” OARC’s chief executive officer (CEO) Buddy Stemple told MEED. “We are now in full commissioning phase, with limited production available.”

Products from the rolling mill will be exported for use in aluminium food containers, foil stock reroll, automotive heat exchangers and air conditioners.

“Our next and final milestone will be final acceptance in the second quarter of 2014 to validate the equipment all works as a system to produce at an annual rate of 140,000 tonnes,” Stemple said.  

Stemple expects to have over 50,000 tonnes of production in 2014, 90,000 tonnes in 2015 and 120-140,000 tonnes in 2016.

OARC is a 100-per-cent-owned subsidiary of Takamul Investment Company, a group formed in 2006 to promote and invest in metals, petrochemicals and minerals projects in the sultanate.

Takamul is studying the possibility of developing several new downstream aluminium projects such as aluminium containers and packaging and automotive aluminium dye-casting, along with other metal products like steel foundry, highway guard steel, silicon and ferrochrome.