OREANDA-NEWS. On 26 June 2009 UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminium and alumina producer, announced that Oleg Deripaska, RUSAL’s CEO, visited the ALSCON aluminium smelter during his tour of the company’s production facilities. As part of the Nigerian visit of the official Russian delegation chaired by RF President Dmitry Medvedev the head of RUSAL had a series of consultations with Nigerian government authorities and businessmen.

During the visit to ALSCON, Oleg Deripaska checked the results of a large-scale modernisation programme that RUSAL launched immediately after the acquisition of the plant in 2007.  RUSAL’s CEO toured the reduction cell area, cast house and anode rodding shop, as well as upgraded energy supply system. The total budget of the modernisation programme was about USD300 mln.  Using RUSAL's in-house technology, its engineers changed the pot lining design to extend the life of pots. The application of modern reduction process technology will increase the smelter’s capacity to 197,000 tonnes annually. The head of RUSAL also had a meeting with ALSCON’s management and staff to discuss the prospects of the plant’s development and plans to reach full capacity.

During the consultations with Nigerian state authorities, Oleg Deripaska touched upon key issues vital for the stabilization of the smelter’s operations, including security and an uninterrupted gas supply. Nigerian officials expressed support for RUSAL’s active participation in social and economic development of the country through creating infrastructure, support of the small and medium businesses and social programmes, among others. They also offered reassurance that they will help to resolve all issues providing for the stable operations of ALSCON, which is a fundamental part of the Federal Government’s Vision 2020 Programme aimed at transforming Nigeria into one of the twenty most industrialised nations in the world by the year 2020.

The plant currently employs more than 800 people. Once ALSCON reaches its full capacity, it will create 1,900 local jobs at the smelter. Additionally, the active development of small and medium-scale business around the smelter, developing necessary infrastructure including port facilities, technical maintenance companies, medical and social services will generate approximately 20,000 jobs in Akwa Ibom state. In June 2009 RUSAL started domestic sales of ALSCON produced aluminium. To date, the total volume of contracts with local customers for ALSCON aluminium amounts to about 1,000 tonnes.