Russian aluminium giant UC Rusal announced plans this week for a new alumina refining plant in Leningrad.
Rusal will invest ₽400 billion in the project, which involves the construction of four technological lines at the site as well as improved infrastructure on the Baltic port of Ust-Luga. The first phase will include installing 2.4 million metric tons per annum of alumina refining capacity, which the company expects to commission by the end of 2028.
The second phase will consist of the construction of roughly equivalent alumina refining capacity, which is scheduled to be online by 2032. Altogether the project is expected to create 7,500 new jobs while improving the region for workers and their families.
General Director of RUSAL Evgenii Nikitin said in a press release that the project has significant benefits for several stakeholders.
“This project for us is much more than what is written on paper today: along with the massive modernization of the transport infrastructure of the region, we have also planned large-scale investments in the Republic of Guinea. The development of the infrastructure in Guinea is necessary to ensure an increase in the extraction and transportation of bauxite in the republic, which will also create prerequisites for improving trade and economic relations between our countries.”