ALCOA INC., the world's leading supplier of alumina, has announced a US$690 million expansion project at the Jamalco Refinery in Halse Hall, Clarendon, which will increase employment in that section of the island and bring the country an additional US$300 million per year in gross foreign exchange earnings.
The expansion, to be undertaken over the next three years, will result in an additional 1.4 million tonnes of alumna being produced annually, more than doubling the refinery's total capacity to 2.65 million metric tonnes per year, placing Jamalco among the world's lowest production-cost refineries.
The development comes on the heels of the Government's recent revision of the tax arrangement for the bauxite industry, including the provision of incentives to spur investment in the sector. In 2003, Alcoa completed a 250,000 metric tonne expansion project at Jamalco at a cost of US$115 million and the revised tax arrangements, along with the expansion, lowered costs at the refinery by approximately 30 per cent.
Upgrading of the Jamalco facility is part of a US$1.3 billion investment initiative, and is aimed at meeting the growing worldwide demand for aluminium, which is used in the construction industry and to manufacture cars.
