Noranda Aluminium plans to start USD 11 million expansion of its harbor capacity at Port Rhodes in Discovery Bay this year. The local investment, along with plans to build a USD 45 million rod mill in the US, proved attractive because their value creation is largely independent from LME aluminium prices.
Mr Layle Kip Smith president & CEO of Noranda said that “The opportunity to further expand harbour capacity in Port Rhodes represents not only a value-creating investment in our existing bauxite operation but also an investment in our long term relationship with the Government of Jamaica.”
The project which follows on USD 6 million investments that raised the pier’s capacity from 4.5 million tonnes to 5.4 million tonnes a year in early 2011 consists principally of harbor dredging and focuses on further reducing costs and providing greater flexibility for shipping activities.
Last month, Ms Pansy Johnson president of Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners said that the project would start somewhere between Q4 of 2012 and the Q2 of 2013.
Then she said that the timing of the start of the project would depend on the availability of the required specialized equipment and the dredging method that will be employed. There are a limited number of companies and limited units that will be able to handle this project.
Source - Stabroeknews.com
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