Jul 12 2007
Alcan announced today that it has signed a contract worth more than US$100 million with a joint venture consisting of SNC-Lavalin, Hatch, and Murray & Roberts for the front-end engineering design (FEED) and management of the first phase of the proposed COEGA Aluminium smelter (360,000 tonnes/yr).
"Alcan is pleased to announce the signing of this contract, moving ahead as planned with the COEGA Aluminium smelter project. The joint venture of SNC-Lavalin, Hatch, and Murray & Roberts brings together a unique combination of technical expertise, South African presence and project experience," said Michel Jacques, President and CEO, Alcan Primary Metal Group.
SNC-Lavalin and Hatch already have offices in South Africa, as does Murray & Roberts, a leading South Africa-based engineering and contracting Group. The joint venture provides significant experience working on projects on the African continent. The engineering team will be based in South Africa, after an initial start-up phase of approximately six months in Montreal.
"Alcan looks forward to working with the joint venture partners as they each share Alcan's commitment to environment, health, and safety and to maximizing the project's benefits for South Africa," said Brent Hegger, CEO of COEGA Aluminium. "Together the partners have demonstrated this commitment by setting the target of zero Lost Time Accidents during the construction," he added.
The FEED is expected to take nine months to complete and will provide firm cost estimates and a critical path for construction, pending the Notice to Proceed (NTP) from the COEGA Aluminium joint venture board. The second phase of the project, which would bring aluminum production to an estimated 720,000 tonne/yr is also currently in development.