Taweelah Aluminium Extrusion Company (Talex) is preparing to break ground on its flagship project in Khalifa Industrial Zone, Abu Dhabi, according to a senior joint venture partner.

Talex, a joint venture of UAE-based groups General Holding Corporation (Senaat) and Gulf Extrusions Company, is investing $200m to build a 50,000 tonnes a year (t/y) plant to manufacture aluminium extrusion products.

“We are about to break ground on Talex very soon,” said Tariq Ahmad al-Wahedi, Senaat’s senior vice president, projects and business development, speaking at MEED’s Abu Dhabi 2012 conference on 20 November. “We are expecting the first metal out in the first or second quarter of 2014.”

The feasibility study on the project was carried out by US-based Dun & Bradstreet.