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EGA, Mubadala and Dubal break ground on Dh1b project

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Mubadala and Dubal Holding on Sunday officially broke ground on a new Dh1 billion state-of-the-art power block at EGA's Jebel Ali smelter in Dubai.
The ground-breaking ceremony was held in the presence of Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, vice-chairman of Dubal Holding and vice-chairman of EGA, and Khaled Al Qubaisi, EGA board member and chief executive officer of Aerospace, Renewables & ICT at Mubadala. EGA is the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, and is jointly owned by Mubadala Investment Company and Dubal Holding.
The new, highly-efficient power facility is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from EGA's power generation at Jebel Ali by some 10 per cent. Emissions reductions per tonne of aluminium produced at Jebel Ali, which includes both power generation and aluminium smelting, are expected to be up to seven per cent.
"This project reinforces our sustainable development journey, as well as our support of one of the UAE's most vital industries. Now we have broken ground, we look forward to developing this project successfully," Al Tayer said.
Mubadala and Dubal Holding have formed a joint venture to develop the new power facility. EGA intends to buy the facility's output for 25 years following commissioning. Siemens is to install the UAE's first combined cycle H-class gas turbine at the power block. The project is also the first in the global aluminium industry to use a Siemen's H-class gas turbine, a leading technology in efficient power generation.
"We are pleased to break ground on this important project which will improve our power generation efficiency at Jebel Ali, saving costs and environmental emissions. We are now focused on safe construction and ultimately starting up the new power block in line with our plans," Abdulla Kalban said.
Once the new power block is commissioned, five older, smaller and less efficient turbines at EGA Jebel Ali will be put on standby for use only in emergencies.
The project is expected to reduce EGA's NOx emissions at Jebel Ali by 58 per cent. NOx, which is also emitted by motor vehicles, is amongst a group of emissions targeted for reductions under 'UAE Vision 2021' to improve local air quality.
EGA requires electricity for aluminium smelting and other industrial operations, and has captive power plants at both Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah. EGA's electricity generation capacity is 5,450 megawatts. In 2018, EGA produced 2.64 million tonnes of cast metal.
- business@khaleejtimes.com