The joint venture partners behind a planned $100m aluminium rod and conductor plant at Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) in Taweelah will issue tenders for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts on the scheme in the third quarter of 2010.  

Bahrain’s Midal Cables and its partner, the state-owned Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (Adbic) are awaiting a number of permits to be issued on the 150,000 tonnes-a-year facility in northern Abu Dhabi before inviting companies to bid, says Hamid Al-Zayani, chairman of Midal.

“Tenders will go out right after summer and I think the project will break ground in early 2011,” Al-Zayani says. “The contract will be for 18 months with a view to completing the project towards the end of 2012.”

One third of the products manufactured at the plant will be sold within the GCC with the remainder being sold on the global market, Al-Zayani says.  

Adbic is currently planning to build three new aluminium downstream facilities at KPIZ that will form the basis of a proposed metals park around Emirates Aluminium’s (Emal) 750,000-t/y smelter.

Along with the rod and conductor plant Adbic has also signed a joint venture agreement with Dubai’s Gulf Extrusions about a $122m, 50,000-t/y aluminium extrusion plant and is also in talks with an as yet unnamed company over a $1.5bn, 500,000-t/y aluminium rolling mill.  

Midal Cables is a privately owned company that also has a 120,000-t/y rod and conductor plant in Bahrain.