Reuters reports the Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden), said that the contracts were for the construction of the integrated complex at Ras Azzour. It did not give the value of the contracts.
WorleyParsons and Fluor won the supervision, engineering and procurements for the complex's alumina refinery to be completed by December 2014.
ABB has been given 18 months to deliver electric power to the smelter and Fluor Corp was given a contract to oversee and complete the construction of the plant’s rolling mill by December 2014.
Fluor Arabia Ltd, which is a Saudi affiliate of Fluor Corp, also secured a contract for the management of services, engineering works and supervision of infrastructure at the site.
Maaden’s deal with Alcoa provides for a 1.8Mt/y refinery, a 740kt/y smelter, a 4Mt/y bauxite mine and a rolling mill with a capacity of up to 460kt/y.
The smelter and mill were initially slated to start production in 2013 while the refinery and mine would come online in 2014.
Financing
Maaden and Alcoa are splitting the Ras Azzour plant financing into two between the smelter, which will total $5bn, and the rolling mill which will total $2.5bn.
Alcoa said last month that it was increasing its investment in the project after Maaden said its stake in the JV was raised to 74.9% and Alcoa’s would be 25.1%.
Alcoa and Maaden had initially entered into a 60/40 agreement in December to build and operate the complex, which integrates a bauxite mine, alumina refinery, aluminum smelter and rolling mill.
Alcoa agreed in December to take a stake in the Ras Azzour plant after tight credit conditions forced Rio Tinto Alcan to abandon a 49% stake in a similar plan with Maaden about a year earlier.
Ras Azzour is the largest of the investments Maaden pledged to deliver in 2008 when it raised $2.47bn in an IPO that was open only to Saudi investors.
Saudi Arabia’s three largest state funds together hold 64% of Maaden’s capital. Australia's Alumina Ltd is also a partner in the JV.