ALBA Line 5 Expansion Projects

Project Overview

As part of the ongoing expansion of the Bahrain-based leading international aluminium smelter, Alba commissioned Potline 5 in 2003 to increase the company’s aluminium production capacity. Bechtel, having extensive industry specific experience in the region and being the EPCM contractor for Alba’s Line 4, was once again selected as the EPCM Contractor for this expansion scheme. GPZ was appointed to execute three civil and building contracts. The works carried out for all three contracts were to the highest quality standards, under Bechtel’s stringently controlled Health & Safety procedures, and were completed with zero lost-time incidents.

Line 5 set the world record for the fastest and safest start-up of an aluminium reduction line, and became the world’s longest potline (1.2km) at that time. It expanded Alba’s annual aluminium production by adding 307,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), making it the largest aluminium smelter in the world outside of Eastern Europe with a total output of over 827,000 mtpa.

1. Casthouse Buildings:

Lump sum contract for the procurement, fabrication, construction, supervision, testing and associated civil and building works for the Casthouse Buildings. The scope comprised complete concrete works, electrical and HVAC works, building finishing works, associated earth works, earthing system and drainage works.

Civil construction works comprised probe drilling local to the foundations; approximately 30,000m3 of reinforced concrete; steel framed clad structures supported on pad foundation; furnaces; VDC pits; supply and installation of refractory; application of Wisechem E-212- F coating to the walls of furnaces (safety barrier between wet substate and molten aluminium to reduce risk of molten aluminium explosion); application of non-metallic surface hardener; construction of cooling water underground feed and return pipe system; construction of watertight reinforced concrete tank and drainage channels, etc.

Electrical and mechanical works comprised supply, installation, testing and commissioning of internal lighting and power services, including distribution boards, power supply to HVAC equipment, self-contained luminaries; supply and installation of cable management system; supply and installation of a network of 20mm diameter 3m long earthing rods interconnected by 95mm² bare copper cable; 35mm² PVC insulated bonding cables drawn in buried PVC conduits; supply and installation of HVAC system considering minimum noise level as NC 30 and equipment cooling load as 40watts/m².

2. Air Compressor Plant:

Construction, installation, testing, commissioning and handover of the Air Compressor Plant and associated instrumentation.These works incorporated specialist equipment such as Compressors (supplied by Alba) and Air Dryers, civil and MEP power supply infrastructure from a substation to new electrical control rooms complete with transformers and switchgear, cooling water facilities provided by Evaporative Cooling Towers, Cooling Water Pumps and associated civil works.

3. Anode Baking Furnace & Auxiliary Buildings:

Civil works consisting of complete concrete works, associated earthworks and below ground earthing system for the AnodeBaking Furnace building, Anode Storage building (with transfer passage), Anode Cleaning Station building, green and baked anode transfer conveyor, offices and furnace control room. The furnace tub in the Anode Baking Furnace building is a major part of the work.