Bahrain-based Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), a leading international aluminium smelter, today (May 23) held a Supplier and Contractor Forum for its Line 6 Expansion Project, in the kingdom.

The event took place at the Awal Ballroom, Gulf Hotel Bahrain.

It was attended by Alba’s chairman of board of directors, Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa; chief executive officer Tim Murray; chief financial officer Ali Al Baqali; Line 6 Smelter project director Shawqi Al Hashimi; president of Bechtel Mining and Metal Global Business Unit (GBU) Shaun Kenny; Bechtel Mining and Metal regional general manager Shane Hall as well as the participating supplier and contracting companies.

The forum, part of the early works for Line 6 Expansion Project, provided a general overview of the proposed line, further insights on the contractors’ registration, bidding and evaluation process along with the project’s opportunities to local suppliers and contractors, thus ensuring that all information was disseminated at the same time, on a single platform, said a statement from Alba.

Alba had recently announced International Bechtel Company as the engineering, procurement, construction, management (EPCM) contractor for this project, wherein, under the terms of the contract, Bechtel will be responsible for the design and construction of the sixth pot line as well as support industrial services, it said.

One of the largest brownfield expansions in Bahrain, the Line 6 Expansion Project will make Alba the largest single-site smelter in the world. Upon completion in early 2019, the sixth potline is expected to add 540,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to the company’s current production, bringing its total production capacity to 1.5 million tpa, it added.

Shaikh Daij said: “Line 6 is a historical project that will bring success and sustainability not just to our company but also to Bahrain. We believe in transparency and maintaining the highest standards of ethical and professional behaviour in all its operations.”

“By adhering to Alba’s principles of safety, professionalism and openness, we look forward to delivering on our goals and achieving success,” he said.

Murray said: “We believe that safety is a collective effort – we view our employees and contractors as one team and equal contributors to our success.”

“Along with our employees, it is pertinent that our contractors are also passionate about working safely and maintaining a zero accident work environment. We look forward to work with the teams on site in order to successfully achieve this project safely,” he said.

Kenny said: “We share the vision and values of Alba and are jointly committed to designing and constructing Line 6 safely, with the requisite quality, on schedule and within budget.”

“We look forward to working with local Bahraini suppliers and contractors to expand this world-class facility and deliver a project all of Bahrain can be proud of for years to come,” he said. – TradeArabia News Service