A new aluminium rolling plant with a total investment of AED440 million is to be built in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad), amid surging demand for flat-rolled aluminium products across the UAE and GCC countries.

The new plant for Emirates Aluminium Rolling (Emiroll), a joint venture between Dubal Holding, Dubai Investments and Mars, a Singapore-based industrial group, is expected to go on-stream by the third quarter of 2017.

Dubal Holding will hold 35 percent stake in Emiroll, Dubai Investments 30 percentwhile Mars will hold the remaining 35 percent stake in the joint venture.

Construction of the plant will commence soon on 900,000 square feet of land in Kizad, a statement said.

Once operational, Emiroll will manufacture 65,000 tonnes of aluminium coils per annum, including 45,000 tonnes of cold-rolled and 20,000 tonnes of hot-rolled aluminium for applications in downstream industries, such as automotive body parts, roller-shutters, garage castings, container trays, cans and aerosols, the statement added.

GCC currently manufactures 4.5 million tonnes of primary aluminium per annum, with UAE's share about 2.3 million tonnes per annum, and only 10 percent of this production is used in the downstream industry.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Dubal Holding, said: "Dubal Holding's stake in Emiroll is a significant milestone in its growth plans, as it seeks to strengthen its presence in aluminium sector globally."

The UAE is the world's fourth largest aluminium producer and accounts for over 50 percent of the Gulf's aluminium production and continues to strengthen its share in the global market.

The worldwide demand for aluminium is expected to grow at an average of 6.5 percent annually, according to industry statistics.

• [Editor:tianyawei]