Easy access to capital and energy resources will help the Mena region become one of the largest producers of aluminium in the world by 2015, industry insiders said here yesterday.
Producers, however, should focus on two aspects – securing dependable gas supplies and training their manpower to stay competitive, they added.
Insiders said the Mena region, which had a production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum in 2000, will be able to produce five million tonnes of aluminium annually by 2015.
Amir Mirchi, Vice-President, Business Development, with Rio Tinto Alcan, said at an aluminium conference yesterday: "With aluminium capacity additions and new plants coming up in the UAE, Qatar, Libya, Iran and Algeria, the region will emerge to be one of the largest producers in the aluminium industry.
"The region is positioned to capture a major share of the global aluminium industry." Rio Tinto Alcan sees an increasing role for itself in the region, Mirchi said. He did not have figures for what proportion of Rio Tinto Alcan's alumina production is being currently directed to the Middle East.
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