OREANDA-NEWS. On 11 August 2008 UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminium and alumina producer, and RusHydro, the largest Russian renewable energy generating company, announced the two-year results of their joint BEMO project, which includes the completion of the Boguchansky hydropower plant and the construction of a greenfield aluminium smelter in the Krasnoyarsk region. Since the beginning of the project, both companies have already invested over USD 1.8 billion, while it is expected to bring the total amount of expenditures by the end of 2008 to USD 2.6 bln.

65% of the investments were channeled to construction works, and the rest was spent on the procurement of the required equipment manufactured by Power Machines Company, NKM NOEL, Areva, ALTECH, Mechaterm and STAS.

The construction of the 3,000 MWt Boguchanskaya hydropower plant (BHHP) and the 600 ktpa Boguchansky aluminium smelter (BoAZ) are underway in line with the companies’ business plans. The start-up of Stage 1 of the hydropower plant and aluminium smelting operations are planned for late 2010. The full design capacity is planned to be achieved in 2012.

At the moment, the BEMO is the biggest construction project in Russia. This is a very unique initiative because some parts of the river are blocked by a cement dam, while the other parts are contained by a rock-fill dam with a bituminous concrete diaphragm. It will be the first hydropower plant ever built in Russia based on this design and engineering concept.

As part of the hydropower plant construction project, nearly USD 180 mln have been spent on non-standard equipment (turbines, cranes, etc). In the first half of 2009, the project team will proceed with placing orders for electrical equipment.

At the current stage of the project, the construction team is building a spillway, installing the cranes which will help to place hydraulic actuators and locks for the spillway before filling the water reservoir, which will be the final stage of the construction of the new power plant. Up to 280,000 m3 of concrete will be added to the dam and the construction of a port terminal for heavy-load vessels will be completed by the end of 2008.

The levelling works on the smelter’s construction site are almost finished: apprx. 7.8 mln m3 of earth were removed and another 4.9 mln m3 were placed where necessary as part of the early project works. The construction teams have completed excavating the foundation pits for reduction area, anode-rodding shop and casthouse which are yet to be built. In parallel, the workers are still building their onsite camp, high-voltage substation and temporary access roads. The total value of all the contracts for acquisition of smelter’s process equipment is apprx. USD 400 mln.

By the end of this year, most of the aluminium smelter facilities will be built. The construction plan also includes a new railway station and tracks: these works will start later this year.

The smelter which will be equipped with RA-300 cells (UC RUSAL’s owne technology), will consist of a reduction area, an anode-rodding shop, a casthose, power lines and substation and some other auxiliary facilities. Ranked as one of the three best aluminium smelting technologies in the world, a RA-300 cell produces over 2,050 kg of aluminium a day and ensures attractive economic and environmental performances.

The new smelter has been designed and is constructed in line with the highest HSE to provide safe work environment and to minimise emissions.

The BEMO is a complex, multi-level project, which serves as a good example of the private and public partnership. The success of this project is owed to a close cooperation of UC RUSAL and RusHydro which co-finance this initiative, and several local authorities (Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk), as well as federal ministries and agencies and Russia’s largest industrial enterprise -  the Russian Railways Company, and Unified National Electric Grip, which also finance construction of the necessary infrastructure, water reservoir for the hydropower plant, and the housing and other social facilities.  

When implemented successfully, the BEMO project will feed electricity for the entire territory located near the Lower Angara River and will encourage the development of several local industries, railway and motor road transportation.

Over 6,500 people are involved in the construction of the aluminium smelter and hydropower plant.