Sweden's SAPA, Chinalco seal JV deal
Shanghai. April 11. INTERFAX-CHINA - Aluminum Corp. of China (Chinalco), China's largest aluminum smelter, and Swedish aluminum giant SAPA Group have finalized details of their planned aluminum extrusion joint venture (JV), Chinalco announced April 8.
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in July 2010 to form a 50:50 JV to produce aluminum extrusions, Interfax previously reported.
The JV will be based in Chongqing Municipality and operate a 20,000-ton facility which will cost over RMB 600 million ($91.74 million) to build, according to the announcement. No further financial details were given.
The plans await the approval of China's regulators.
The facility is intended to meet China's increasing demand for rolling stock, Chinalco said. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2013.
"This is the first time Chinalco has partnered with an overseas firm on an aluminum production project," Xiong Weiping, chairman of Chinalco, stated in the announcement.
The project is in line with China's goal to expand its rail network under the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), Xiong added.
China plans to invest a total of RMB 3.5 trillion ($535.16 billion) in high-speed rail projects as part of the five-year plan.
-KHM