A message from the General Manager

Truls Gautesen

In two and a half years, Qatalum will produce its first metal!

The Executive Committee of Qatalum, with representatives from both partners Qatar Petroleum and Norsk Hydro, has made the final approval to start the construction.

Go-ahead for construction

This means massive construction works will start this fall in Mesaieed Industrial City, here in Qatar. Never before in the aluminium industry have anyone built a plant with an initial capacity of close to 600,000 tonnes. We will also make sure that we have the best staff and management in place to operate the plant – safe and efficient.

We are not really talking one plant. It will be a large industrial complex consisting of two potrooms each 1,150 meters long, a large cast house, an anode paste plant and a large anode baking furnace and a power plant with a maximum capacity of 1,250 MW. Qatalum will have a dedicated port and all the service and support facilities needed.

Safety will be a main concern and priority in construction. We have started the site preparation and already now safety is our focus. We will expect all contractors to take part in our effort to make Qatalum a safe working place from day one.

Qatalum is the result of the joint effort of Qatar Petroleum and Hydro. Both groups will now nominate candidates for the Qatalum management. In this initial stage we will have to lean on our two parents. And we look forward to strong and close relations going forward.

Thousands of people will contribute during the close to three year construction period of Qatalum. At the peak we will have more than 10,000 workers at the same time. When in operation, Qatalum will provide more than 1,000 permanent jobs here in Qatar. We will also create an important market for suppliers and subcontractors locally and in the Gulf region.

Qatalum will to be an important part of building Qatar’s rapidly growing knowledge based economy. We will also contribute in making Qatari academic and research institutions part of the international network working together with the aluminium industry. The aluminium industry is growing rapidly in the Gulf, and the local and regional institutions will develop the competences to be a partner to our industry.

Welcome to Qatalum.com
Truls Gautesen