Aluminium Bahrain’s (Alba) Line 5 project celebrated the handover of the first set of 42 assembled pots to the smelter’s existing operations, marking a significant milestone in the project’s development.

The Line 5 Project Team commemorated this achievement with a handover ceremony at the project’s smelter, recently.
The handover was completed on time and this accomplishment provides the Line 5 operations team with additional preparation time for the Pot start-up and first hot metal production in March 2005.
The first set of 42 pots is out of a total of 336 pots envisaged in this project. The pots are used to produce hot metal following an electrolysis process adopted in the AP-30 technology – considered to be the latest in the aluminium industry.
“I would like to thank the Line 5 Reduction Team and the contractors for their hard work and effort in achieving such a milestone safely and within schedule,” commented Niall O’Byrne, general manager, Line 5 Expansion Project.
The fifth potline is constructed with the Alcan-Pechiney’s AP-30 technology and Bechtel is the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor. Upon its completion, the Line 5 will be the world’s longest AP-30 pot room with 336 pot cells.
Alba is a 520,000 tonnes per year aluminium smelter. Apart from its reduction lines and casthouses, the company has a dedicated carbon department and a 1,500MW power plant. A 450,000 tonnes per annum coke calcining plant is also in operation at the company’s marine terminal.
Alba’s Line 5 Expansion, due for completion in February 2005 will expand Alba’s annual production by a further 307,000 tonnes per annum, making it the largest smelter in the world outside of eastern Europe. 
At a total cost of $1.7 billion, the expansion will create an estimated 500 jobs and will include a new power station, carbon, casthouse and other facilities.