Vimetco finalized the bidding process for building the Alum power plant

Highlights

• Annual capacity of 250 MW cogeneration unit
• Construction site on Alum Tulcea perimeter
• Seven international companies bid for the project

Amsterdam, 28 December 2011 – Vimetco NV (LSE: VICO), the global producer of primary and processed aluminium products, today announces it finalized the bidding process for the construction of its own power plant in Tulcea. The project is developed by Vimetco Power Romania, a company belonging to Vimetco Group and consists of building a power cogeneration plant of 250 MW at Alum Tulcea with the financial support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and commercial banks.

Following the feasibility study conducted by Tractebel Engineering, seven companies placed bids, among them, China Huadian Engineering, China National Electric Engineering, Consortium of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. Korea (HDEC) and Itochu Corporation (ITOCHU), Metka S.A., Minmetals Engineering Co. Ltd., Siemens and  Sinohydro Corporation Limited.

“We are focusing on increasing the efficiency of the operations, in order to have the most competitive cost structure, and to gain our independence in terms of raw materials”, Gheorghe Dobra, Acting CEO Vimetco and Alum GM said.“On the operational side, we integrated the mining and the production of alumina, achieving an important cost reduction, but also securing the raw materials supply for our smelter in Slatina. We are committed at ensuring the security of raw materials, electricity included, in order to be able to continue our developments plans in Romania and to further consolidate our aluminium production business here”.

Following the feasibility study, seven companies placed bids. The Company will make the comparison taking into account several key factors for the success of the project and balancing the technical and commercial points of view. Vimetco Power Romania expects to announce the winner of the bid by the end of 1Q 2012.

As per the feasibility study, the plant shall be a cogeneration unit supplying electricity for Alum and partially for Alro, steam to Alum and hot water for District Heating of Tulcea. It will also comply with all the European Union requirements regarding technology and environment protection.

Moreover, the project is in full compliance with high standards on environment protection technology, health and safety, and will increase the energy efficiency.

The power plant will provide energy and steam to Alum and will fulfil the energy security requirements of the organisation. District heating will also be supplied to Tulcea City as part of the development.

Vimetco Power and Alum are committed to undertaking communications with key stakeholders, local communities, and other interested parties on future major investments and other key projects including the proposed power plant. This Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) has been developed with the express objectives of identifying key stakeholders and ensuring that, where practicable, they are informed of the potential impact of projects in a timely manner. The plan also includes a formal grievance mechanism to be used by stakeholders for dealing with complaints, concerns, queries, and grievances etc.

The Non-Technical Summary (NTS) of the Project and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is included, in both English and Romanian, on the Vimetco and Alum websites and at Vimetco Power headquarters in Bucharest, in Tulcea at Alum headquarters, at the Mayor’s Office and at Energoterm.

The Stakeholder Engagement Programme (SEP) and the Project Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) are also available in English and Romanian on the company’s website.

Vimetco will collate any comments and feedback associated with future projects and will document these. All comments received will be reviewed in accordance with the commitments made under ‘Best International Practice’. All communications will be reviewed for the feasibility to make changes to satisfy the request and interest and the communicator will be informed on the outcome.

In the first half of 2011, Alum took over the bauxite mining operations in Sierra Leone, thus ensuring a constant and predictable supply of raw materials, at predictable costs. The addition of a power generation unit to the Group’s operations in Romania will consolidate its position and will lead to higher predictability of costs and continuous operations.

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About Alum

Alum is an alumina refinery with a production capacity of 600,000 tonnes of alumina per year with domestic sales to Alro SA, part of the Vimetco Group, and internationally. Alum’s shares have been traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange since 1996.
 

About Vimetco

Vimetco N.V. is a global, vertically integrated producer of primary and processed aluminium products with major production assets in Romania, Sierra Leone and China, and a holding company in The Netherlands. Vimetco NV controls an aluminium production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes pa. Vimetco’s global depositary receipts are listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:VICO). www.vimetco.com

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