OREANDA-NEWS. On 14 May 2008 UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminium and alumina producer, announced its plans to complete the main construction phase and purchase production equipment for the Taishet Aluminium Smelter in 2008. Total investment will exceed USD 700 million this year. The smelter’s first metal is scheduled to be produced at the end of 2009.

60% of the investment this year will support building and assembling works at the smelter. The remainder will be used to purchase the required equipment.

At present, 70% of the contracts for supplying production equipment have been signed. Orders have been placed with leading foreign suppliers to produce the equipment and to construct the structural facilities required at the smelter. Over USD 250 million have been invested since the beginning of the project.

Excavation works are currently nearing completion, and the foundation preparations along with the erection of the steel core structural objects and support facilities are currently ongoing. The construction of potrooms, gas treatment facilities, a casthouse, a silicon rectifier substation, and energy and infrastructure facilities will start soon. In addition, out of the total 150,000 sq. meters planned for employee homes, 12,000 sq. meters will be constructed by the end of 2008.

The Taishet Aluminium Smelter will produce 750,000 tonnes of aliminium and will comprise of four potrooms equipped with state-of-the-art RA-400 cells developed by the UC RUSAL’s Engineering and Technology Centre. The smelter will also include casthouse, anode, and energy shops, gas treatment facilities, and a complex of infrastructure facilities. UC RUSAL’s Engineering and Construction Division is carrying out the construction of the smelter.

Valery Matvienko, Director of the Engineering and Construction Division at UC RUSAL, said: “The Taishet Aluminium Smelter will be the most environmentally and technologically advanced smelter in the world, providing an 18% increase in the company’s total production capacity. Our successful experiences of delivering large scale construction projects and launching new plants, thorough an understanding of all the operational details as well as our proven organizational ability, will enable us to deliver the project efficiently and on time.”

Up to 4,000 people will be involved in the construction of the smelter in 2008. This will increase to over 6,000 people in 2009.