Construction begins on $1.57 bln aluminum foil base in Inner Mongolia - report
Shanghai. September 28. INTERFAX-CHINA - An aluminum foil production base, which requires total investment of RMB 10.7 billion ($1.57 billion), has commenced construction in Erdos City in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, state media reported on Sept. 27.
According to Xinhua news agency, the project, named the Changjiang High-Tech Aluminum Industry Production Base, is designed to have a 40,000-ton high-purity aluminum smelter, a 60,000-ton electronic aluminum foil facility, and a 12,600-ton electrolytic etching facility for aluminum foil. However, the report did not reveal the organization or company behind the project.
The project, which is scheduled to kick off operations by the end of 2010, is expected to generate sales revenue of RMB 21.02 billion ($3.08 billion) per annum, and profits of RMB 3.72 billion ($544.82 million).
The products from the base will be used in the manufacture of reflective materials, integrated circuits, and aluminum-air batteries, according to the report.
Wang Dengwen, an industry analyst with Sunlight Metal Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., told Interfax that the new base is expected to produce high-end aluminum foil for the manufacture of high and medium-voltage electrolytic capacitors, of which China is in short supply.
Wang added that the electronic aluminum foil facility is power-intensive, and such projects therefore are more likely to be located in energy-rich areas such as Inner Mongolia, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Hubei Province.
-GD