<strong><strong>ALU</strong>MINIUM</strong> INdUstry IN the GULf Kizad aluminium cluster taking shape B. rieth, Meerbusch A large part of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s 2030 economic vision is based on diversification of the economy. Several ambitious projects have been initiated in the emirate to broaden and diversify its economic base. The Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, or Kizad as it is better known, is aimed at establishing an additional source of economic activity in the form of light and heavy industries together with related trading and services. The emirate wants to attract not only domestic investors, but also top-class foreign companies wishing to locate there. By developing Kizad, the emirate is also aiming at providing suitable employment for its growing workforce of young and well-educated nationals as well as attracting experts from other countries to work in the Gulf region. Aerial view of midstream aluminium industries with Hot Metal Road Khalifa Port, a modern deepwater port that has been fully operational since September 2012, is a major asset to the investors in Kizad; designed and owned by Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), it is the only semi-automated port in the region. Kizad covers an area of over 417 square kilometres, split between Area A and B, and includes several sector-oriented industry clusters as well as residential and commercial areas. Besides having direct access to the port, Kizad is linked to the Abu Dhabi to Dubai highway, thus to the whole of the Gulf region’s road network. Three international airports, Abu Dhabi, Al Maktoum and Dubai, can be reached quickly via this network. An impressive rail link is also currently under construction through Etihad Rail, that will see lines eventually running from Khalifa Port to several trade links throughout the region. Thanks to Kizad’s outstanding geo-strategic location, goods produced at this industrial zone can be shipped quickly and cheaply to the growing markets of the Arabian Peninsula, Western Europe, Africa and East Asia where over 4.5 billion people are less than four time zones away. The planned industry clusters are vertically integrated and organised according to industry sectors. An anchor tenant will produce the necessary raw materials, which will be supplied to downstream processors in the respective value chain. This added value will not only be created during production of the basic materials, such as aluminium, but also along the whole value chain. Today Kizad caters to the following industrial clusters: aluminium, steel, engineered metals, glass, paper, print and packaging, trade and logistics, as well as mixed uses such as petrochemicals, chemicals and plastics, construction and building materials, pharmaceuticals and © Kizad medical products, high-tech and clean tech, and food processing. Besides the purely vertical integration within the individual clusters, it is also conceivable that there will be synergies between the clusters. For example, aluminium foil from the aluminium cluster might be used by converters from the pharmaceuticals, food and packaging clusters. efficiency through vertical integration The aluminium cluster is a graphic example of Kizad’s innovative implementation of its vertical clustering concept. Plans were made at an early stage to establish aluminium processing plants locally and thus increase the added value generated locally to ensure that the cheaply produced aluminium is not merely exported in the form of ’solidified energy’. The first successes are already tangible. Companies focusing on finished aluminium products for local and regional markets are moving to locate here, partially as a result of the high level of imports of such products in the Gulf region. However, the primary attraction for producing finished aluminium products in the Gulf region and supplying the world market will be cost benefits for energy and labour coupled with the extensive facilitation of investments for foreign investors. At the centre is Emal, Emirates Aluminium, with one of the most advanced aluminium smelters in the world. Emal is the anchor tenant for Kizad’s aluminium cluster. Its most modern aluminium smelter has a capacity of 800,000 tonnes a year and has been on stream since 2010. At the end of 2011, the company announced that it had created 2,000 new jobs. Emal supplies its products <strong>–</strong> sows, standard ingots, sheet ingots and extrusion billets <strong>–</strong> primarily to Europe, the USA and Asia. The site includes a 2,000 MW power plant, a carbon plant and a casthouse. Raw materials are transported directly from the sea to the smelter via an exclusive purpose-built wharf at Khalifa Port. The production capacity is currently being expanded to 1.3 million tonnes a year with full production is expected by mid-2014. This will make Emal the fifth largest aluminium producer in the world. A special feature of the aluminium cluster, referred to in Kizad as the Hot Metal Road, is a unique and innovative supply route for 38 <strong><strong>ALU</strong>MINIUM</strong> · 9/2013
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