Alcoa Plans $1.1B Iceland Plant

EASTERN ICELAND-Pittsburgh-based aluminum producer Alcoa will spend $1.1 billion on an industrial facility here. Slated to break ground in 2005, the project is being called the most extensive single investment in the history of Iceland.

The 322,000-metric ton Fjaroaal aluminum facility (Fjaroaal means “Aluminum of the Fjords” in Icelandic) is scheduled to begin production in 2007. Alcoa officials tell GlobeSt.com that the size of the facility is not yet being released.

“The Fjaroaal plant is an important element of Alcoa’s growth strategy in primary metals,” says Alain Belda, Alcoa chairman and CEO. “Across our entire primary metals portfolio, we are taking action to move our production assets down the cost curve while maintaining return on capital targets. As we explore new projects around the world, we will continue to reassess our existing smelting portfolio, particularly in the United States, where escalating energy and labor costs have made many smelters less globally competitive.