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ICSOBA 2000: Development of Aluminum Industry in Asia Targeting 500,000 Tons

The third millennium poses inevitable and uncontrollable developments such as flexibility in the international trade and rapid transfer of information which necessitate the establishment of industrial production network and a globally integrated economy. Under such circumstances, these aspects have their unavoidable effects on the developing countries including Iran.
With regard to aluminum production, in spite of Iran’s easy approach to energy forces which is a main and vital advantage in this industry, the relative reference for being competitive in the international market has been decreased due to the increasing power expenses. At the same time, the Persian Gulf Arab countries with the same priorities of Iran represent a considerable volume of aluminum production to the world market.
The industrial progress and development procedure can be achieved provided that matters like environmental problems, social life and human resources have been already foreseen in the economic plans. It will be reasonable to have programs for changing the methods of production instead of having the existing old technology and its consequences such as high power consumption, environmental hazards and wasting of other sources.
Considering the annual world production capacity of approximately 24.7 million tons, our country has only 145,000 tons of usual production which is produced by IRALCO and Almahdi plants and a quantity of 46,600 tons as secondary product which makes a low percentage from the world production.
In order to keep pace with the country’s policies and strategies to approach toward the targets of the Third Economic Development Plan, increase in non-oil exports, continuous presence in the world market, expanding research plants, increase of production with higher surplus values, IRALCO as a principal company is on its way to achieve 500,000 tons of annual production.

Almahdi Aluminum Complex: This is the biggest industrial project of aluminum in Iran as of this date which is originally planned for 220,000 tons of annual capacity which can be extended to 330,000 tons. This plant can play a major role in replying to the increasing local demands for aluminum and increase in the exports. At present, there are about 60 pots with approximately 75 tons of daily capacity on the line which produce aluminum ingots with 99.97% of purity. The required investment for the completion of the first phase as well as installation of two other lines in phase two will be a total of $12 million which is considerably low compared with figures estimated in the primary evaluations due to the possibilities of using local facilities.
Working at its full nominal capacity, Almahdi complex will be able to bring some $352 million of revenues which equals two percent of the country’s total presumed income of foreign exchange i.e. $18 billion.
For economic progress, we require the possibilities of today’s world and we have to prepare the necessary grounds for local and foreign investors for their safe and profitable investments. Therefore the security for investment is a major precondition for this purpose.
We have come to a conclusion that relying on local sources with traditional methods will not be efficient. Absorbing foreign investment from developing countries for passing behind economic underdevelopment is a principle and if not realized, issues like know-how, management and economical output which are the main pillars of development will not be achieved.
In fact, beside the physical aspects of production, there is the economic understanding and thinking which will lead us to an active, competitive and stable economy.