The company's CEO Layle 'Kip' Smith said that the port expansion represents not only a value-creating investment that is largely independent of LME aluminium prices, but also an investment in the Noranda's long-term relationship with the Government of Jamaica.
The project will start during Q4 of 2012 and is likely to finish during Q2 of 2013, according to Pansy Johnson, president of Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners of which Noranda Aluminium holds a 49% stake.
Johnson said that the start date of the project depended upon the availability of specialised equipment and the dredging method employed.