Saturday 30 April 2011

Chinalco to build US1.6b aluminium smelter in Sarawak

Hi Sarawakians,

We should not allow any aluminium smelting plants to be built in Sarawak.
Aluminium smelting is the most polluted industry in the world and we in
Sarawak are going to have 3 such plants, one in Mukah and 2 in Bintulu.
Sarawakians should stand united to reject such projects, like the people
of Pahang who have protested strongly against the Kuantan Rare Earth
Plant.


KUALA LUMPUR, April 30, Malaysian Insider

Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) has signed a joint venture with a company jointly owned by Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhary to build a US$1.6 billion (RM5.44 billion) smelter in Sarawak.

The joint venture for the 370,000 tonnes a year aluminium smelter follows from the heads of agreement signed between Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar’s (picture) Gulf International Investment Group (GIIG) Holdings and Chinalco in 2010, said project manager Asia Smelter.

The smelter is among various projects including Rio Tinto’s aluminium processor and OM Holdings’s manganese plant that were waiting to begin construction once the 2,400 megawatt Bakun hydro-electric dam starts up this year.

Asia Smelter said it also signed the principal terms of the power purchase agreement with Sarawak Energy for over 600 MW of power from the grid powered by Bakun dam and other hydro-electric power plants.
“On further availability of power from the grid, the plant capacity is planned to be increased up to 700,000 metric tonnes,” Asia Smelter said in a statement issued late yesterday.

Construction of the smelter in the Southeast Asian country will start in second half of next year with completion slated for the first half of 2015.

“The plant will... also support the region’s development thrust by providing aluminium, which is critical in driving the massive infrastructure projects that are being planned,” Mohamed Alabbar, co-owner of GIIG Holdings and a prominent United Arab Emirates businessman, said in the statement. — Reuters

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