- Title: BAHRAIN: RULER SHEIKH ISA LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR ALUMINUM SMELTER PLANT
- Date: 7th January 1969
- Summary: 1. SV SHEIKH ISA ARRIVES BY CAR 0.05 2. MV SHEIKH GREETED BY ALBA'S CHAIRMAN MR. CUTTERIDGE 0.11 3. SV SHEIKH INSPECTING GUARD OF HONOUR 0.16 4. SV PAN SHEIKH AND OTHERS WALK TO SCENE OF STONE LAYING 0.20 5. GV GATHERING SEATED 0.24 6. LV ALBA BOARD DIRECTORS SEATED 0.27 7. LV & SV MR. CUTTERIDGE ADDRESSES AUDIENCE 0.34 8. SV AUDIENCE 0.35 9. LV SAYED MAHMUD AL ALAWI SPEAKING 0.38 10. MV AUDIENCE 0.42 11. MV SAYED MAHMUD AL ALAWI SPEAKING 0.46 12. LV SHEIKH WALKS TOWARDS FOUNDATION STONE 0.51 13. MV SHEIKH ISA LAYING FOUNDATION STONE (3 SHOTS) 1.10 14. SV SHEIKH AND OTHER GUESTS LEAVE STONE LAYING SITE 1.14 Initials EH/VS/BOB/SS Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 22nd January 1969 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAHRAIN
- Country: Bahrain
- Reuters ID: LVACBDQ3LUZ195H8LPONI7MTD4W9
- Story Text: SHEIKH ISA SULMAN AL KHALIFA, RULER OF BAHRAIN, LAID THE FOUNDATION STONE YESTERDAY FOR THE ALUMINUM BAHRAIN (ALBA) COMPANY'S NEW ALUMINUM SMELTING PLANT.
THE COMPANY'S CHAIRMAN, M.R.R.C. CUTTERIDGE, UNDERLINED THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF THE PROJECT. IT WOULD, HE SAID, RESULT IN BAHRAIN HAVING THE GREATEST CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY IN THE ARAB WORLD. HE ANNOUNCED A DRAMATIC UPWARD REVISION OF THE ORIGINAL PLAN: IT IS NOW INTENDED TO INVEST 30 MILLION POUNDS INSTEAD OF THE ORIGINALLY PLANNED 20 MILLION; THIS WILL ENABLE PRODUCTION TO BE RAISED TO NINETY THOUSAND TONS ANNUALLY. SAYED MAHMOUD AL ALAWI, BAHRAIN'S FINANCE DIRECTOR AND ALSO DIRECTOR OF ALBA, REPLIED ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BAHRAIN.
MR. CUTTERIDGE REVEALED THAT APART FROM THE SMELTING PLANT ITSELF, WHICH WILL EMPLOY ABOUT 600 SKILLED AND SEMISKILLED WORKERS, SUBSIDIARY INDUSTRIES ARE ALSO PLANNED TO PROCESS SOME OF THE METAL PRODUCED; THESE WOULD, HE BELIEVED, - ATTRACT FURTHER INDUSTRY.
DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SMELTING PLANT ITSELF, SOME 2,500 BHARAINIS WILL BE EMPLOYED ON THE SITE. POWER WILL BE OBTAINED FROM A POWER STATION TO BE BUILT BY THE COMPANY AND FROM NATURAL AS SUPPLIED BY THE BAHRAIN PETROLEUM COMPANY, WHICH WILL DRILL TWO NEW WELLS FOR THIS PURPOSE AT A COST OF SOME 1 MILLION POUNDS. THE RAW MATERIAL, I.E. ALUMINIUM, ORE WILL BE IMPORTED FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA UNDER A 20-YEAR CONTRACT. MR. CUTTERIDGE HOPED THAT THE FIRST METAL WOULD BE POURED IN LATE 1970, AND THAT ALBA WOULD BE IN FULL PRODUCTION BY THE BEGINNING OF 1972.
(THE NEW SMELTER PLANT IS THE FIRST MAJOR HEAVY INDUSTRIAL PROJECT IN THE ARABIAN GULF AREA APART FROM OIL INSTALLATIONS; IT IS ALSO THE ARAB WORLD'S FIRST ALUMINUM SMELTER. BAHRAIN WAS CHOSEN FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE OF ITS LARGE RESERVES OF CHEAP NATURAL GAS AND BECAUSE OF ITS GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION MIDWAY BETWEEN MAJOR WORLD INDUSTRIAL MARKETS. THE PLANT WILL EASE BAHRAIN'S PRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM.
27 1/2% OF ALBA'S CAPITAL COMES FROM THE BAHRAIN GOVERNMENT; 25% FROM THE BRITISH METAL CORPORATION; 25% FROM AKTIEBOLAGET ELEKTROKOPPA OF SWEDEN; 12% FROM WESTERN METALS CORPORATION; 105 FROM GUINESS MAHON.
THE CHOICE AT BRITISH SMELTER CONSTRUCTION LTD. TO BUILD THE NEW PLANT REPRESENTS A FORMIDABLE ACHIEVEMENT IN FACE OF FIERCE COMPETITION BY EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE BIDDERS.)
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