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Russian aluminum producer Rusal plans to double the capacity of its Boguchansky aluminum smelter in Siberia to 600,000 metric tons by 2030, the local government in the Krasnoyarsk region, where the plant is located, said.
Rusal, the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China, launched the first production line at Boguchansky in 2019, investing $1.6 billion. The total project cost to reach full capacity was initially estimated at $2.6 billion.
The plant is jointly owned with the state-controlled power generating company Rushydro.
The local government’s statement quoted Rusal vice president, Elena Bezdenezhnykh, as saying that construction work at Boguchansky will start in 2025.
A Rusal representative confirmed the plans, saying that the financial model and investment volumes would be recalculated by the end of 2024.
Rusal, which accounts for 5.5% of global aluminum output, operates 11 smelters with a combined capacity of 4.6 million tons.
Regarding another new smelter – Taishet – Rusal’s representative said the company had not yet determined its expansion plans. The first line of the smelter, with a capacity of approximately 430,000 tons, was commissioned in 2021.
Rusal expects a global aluminum surplus of around 500,000 metric tons in 2024 and between 200,000 and 300,000 tons in 2025.
(By Anastasia Lyrchikova, Gleb Bryanski and Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alison Williams)
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