ALCOA SAID yesterday that it remained committed to the US$1.2 billion expansion programme at its Jamalco alumina refinery in Clarendon, which would see the Halse Hall plant doubling its production at the completion of the project.
But, Alcoa said the construction of a power house - a major aspect of the expansion project requiring Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) - is dependent on the outcome of current negotiations between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago regarding the supply of the gas.
The company said the first phase of the expansion - called the Early Works Programme - has already begun. The US$77 million Early Works Programme is expected to employ some 400 workers at its peak later this year, with completion scheduled for November. Critical design work is already being done in earnest, in anticipation of the major construction works, which will see approximately 3,500 persons being employed.
In an interview with JIS News, the vice-president of advanced planning and infrastructure at Alcoa, Jerome Maxwell, who is also a director of Jamalco, explained that the LNG-generated equipment would result in greater efficiency. "As soon as these negotiations ... are completed, we will move ahead with the project to build the power house," Mr. Maxwell explained.
"The commitment to this expansion project by Alcoa is firm and resolute," Mr. Maxwell emphasised. He added that in this era of globalisation, Alcoa needed to remain competitive, and its Jamaican operations were an important aspect of that strategy of competitiveness. "Jamaica is definitely on," said an upbeat Maxwell.
