Among the other latest contracts to be awarded by Alba was for the Spent Pot line storage (SPL) building to local contractor Mohammed Jalal. Under a separate contract, Mohammed Jalal is also building the central workshop, which is scheduled for completion by April.
“The appointment of local contractors on the Line 5 Project runs in line with Alba’s strategy of supporting and further empowering the development of the local construction industry” says Bruce Hall, chief executive officer of Alba.
The concreting work on the potline building will be carried out by AA Nass Contracting and will be finalised by the end of October, while Zamil Steel of Saudi Arabia will undertake the structural steel, siding and roofing for the building due for completion by July. For casthouses two and three, GP Zachariades is responsible for the concrete works while Arabian International Company will carry out the structural steel siding and roofing, to be completed by June 2004.
Among other major projects awarded is the substation buildings contract which was awarded to M&I Construction, due for completion by October and the water treatment plant, to Habib Awachi and Sons, scheduled to be completed by July.
The project is also benefiting from the expertise of leading international firms who are leaders in their field. These include Mott MacDonald, Alstom Power and Bechtel.
US engineering giant Bechtel is the engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) contractor for the construction of the Line 5 smelter. Under its contract, Bechtel will manage the various contracts and procurements of the Line 5 smelter to meet the programme and budget targets agreed between the two parties.
“The company is proud to have gained the confidence of Alba and is looking forward to playing an integral role in one of Bahrain’s most important projects,” explains Mike Patterson, Bechtel’s global marketing and strategy manager.
Mott MacDonald – a world-class multi-disciplinary consultancy firm delivering solutions from transport, energy, building, water and the environment to industry, communications, education and social development – is the engineering and construction manager (ECM) of Line 5’s new 650 MW power station which will be built at a cost of $330 million.
Alba appointed Alstom Power as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the power station of the project. Alstom will manage the various contracts and procurements of the Line 5 power station and will be required to complete the electrical, mechanical and civil design of Power Station 4 as well as supply the electrical and control equipment for the power station, such as transformers, switchgear and cabling.
“This project will further enable us to continue our omnipresence with our gas and steam turbine fleet in Bahrain while maintaining and further strengthening our long-term partnership with reputed and highly experienced Bahraini companies who share with us the commitment to provide competitive and high quality power plants,” comments Patrick Kron, chairman and chief executive of Alstom.

Socio-economic benefits
The Line 5 project will bring many lucrative opportunities for Bahrain-based companies and the local contractors will benefit from a total allocated budget of $520 million for the smelter portion of the project while future budget allocations may be made for the construction of Line 5’s new power station.
 “The increased investment into the national economy will guarantee tremendous opportunities that are sure to filter down to even the smallest of contractors and suppliers. The construction market will witness an expansion in the number and scope of new projects entering the market and the more projects initiated, the greater the demand will be for more construction companies,” explains Mahmood Daylami, Alba’s general manager of administration, carbon and casthouse.
“Furthermore, by working on a project of such large scale and being exposed to work practices of international standards, the local construction workforce will further develop their skills and technical know-how through Alba’s and Bechtel’s intensive safety measures and training schemes which will be of significant importance to the local construction industry and will ensure that similar high quality methods are applied to all forthcoming projects in the country,” he says.
In Bahrain in particular and the Gulf region in general, the development of Alba over the past 30 years has given rise to a significant number of downstream industries that provide substantial employment and economic benefit for  Bahrain across a broad base. The contribution of the aluminium industry to the national economy is in the range of seven to eight per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Once the fifth potline is fully operational, Alba’s contribution to the national income is expected to increase to between 10 and 12 per cent of GDP, which translates to over $300 million per year, and this will be achieved through the increased employment and the purchase of equipment and services from the Bahraini market.
Over 4,000 jobs are expected to be created during the Line 5 project’s 25-month construction phase, after which an additional 400 permanent employment opportunities will become available for the operation of the fifth pot line, while secondary jobs will also be created through downstream companies and contractors.

Training
Alba, in association with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Bechtel and the local contractors involved in the project, has embarked on a massive training drive. Dubbed ‘Training for Bahrain’, this initiative is the first of its kind to be introduced in the kingdom and aims to facilitate the employment of unemployed Bahrainis by creating a pool of qualified construction workers that could be immediately employed by the local construction industry.
As part of this scheme, Bahrainis are trained for periods of three to six months in various construction crafts, involving theoretical, practical and on-the-job training at the actual Line 5 construction site. 
“Realising that the lack of experience has been the main obstacle preventing construction companies from employing Bahrainis, this initiative provides participants with theoretical, practical and on-the-job training on the Line 5 construction site, on various construction crafts,” says Daylami.
Alba also launched $200 million floating rate bonds issued in US dollars, in June last year and due in 2013, as part of a financing portfolio aimed at meeting the construction costs of the Line 5 expansion project.
 Alba is a 520,000 tpy aluminium smelter. Along with its reduction lines and cast houses, the company has a dedicated carbon department and a 1,500 MW power plant. A 450,000 tpy coke calcining plant is also in operation at the company’s marine terminal. Established in 1971, Alba’s current shareholders are the Government of Bahrain (77 per cent), Sabic Industrial Investments (20 per cent) and Breton Investments (three per cent).

QUANTITIES
A massive quantity of construction materials will be used in the construction of the Line 5 project, indicating the large scale of the project:
Roads and asphalt pavement: 40,000 sq m
Total excavation: 512,500 cu m (Line 5 excavated rock material is being used as fill material in the construction of the fifth pot line and will be sold to the local market)
Total concrete: 135,000 cu m (ready-mixed concrete from the approved local concrete suppliers)
Total structural steel: 29,100 tonnes (from the GCC and local markets)
Total steel plate work: 36,000 tonnes (local contractors)
Total refractory bricks: 17,800 tonnes (imported)
Total masonry and claustra walls: 24,500 sq m (local and imported)
Equivalent conveyors lengths: 3,900 lm
Carbon steel and PVC piping: 96,700 lm (local contractors)
Lighting fixtures: 7,500 units
Cable trays: 47,800 lm
Rigid conduits for electrical: 67,200 lm
Total cables and wiring: 1,380,000 lm