MOSCOW –  June 1, 2004 – RUSAL, one of the world’s leading aluminium producers, today announced the commencement of a feasibility study for the construction of a new aluminium smelter in the Irkutsk region. Bechtel Corporation, a U.S.-based global engineering and construction company, will carry out the study.

Commenting on the project, Valery Matvienko, RUSAL’s Deputy General Director, aluminium business, said: “We are pleased that RUSAL’s largest expansion project to-date, and our first greenfield project, has begun. This is a major step in our expansion drive that will let us capitalize on the favorable forecasts for the global aluminium market. Bechtel’s expertise will ensure that the design of the new plant will comply with international technological and environmental standards.”      

The feasibility study is to be completed by January 2005.  The new 600,000-tonnes-per-annum smelter will be located on a recently chosen site in the Irkutsk region, between Taishet and Talaya. According to preliminary estimates, construction of the smelter will start in 2006 and be completed by 2009. The plan is for the smelter to apply the RA-300 technology developed by RUSAL’s Engineering and Technological Center specialists last year. A 5-kilometre railway line will be built to connect the site with the rail station in Taishet.

The plant will be designed to be the most modern aluminium smelter in Russia, meeting international environmental standards and applying best technological practices.  The project will be one of the largest investments in Russia’s aluminium sector, and will create hundreds of construction jobs in the Irkutsk region and Eastern Siberia, helping fuel economic growth.
 

About Bechtel
Founded in 1898, Bechtel provides premier technical, management, and directly related services to develop, manage, engineer, build, and operate installations for our customers worldwide. Bechtel has completed more than 20,000 projects in 140 countries, including Hoover Dam, the Channel Tunnel, Hong Kong International Airport, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, reconstruction of Kuwait's oil fields after the Gulf War, and Jubail industrial city. Bechtel is currently working on aluminium projects in Bahrain, Iceland, and Australia.

About RUSAL
RUSAL, a world leader in aluminium production was formed in March 2000 from the merger of a number of the largest smelters and other aluminium producers located in the CIS. The company accounts for 75% of Russia's primary aluminium output and 10% of the global primary aluminium output. RUSAL is a fully vertically integrated company with a complete production cycle from bauxite mining and the production of raw materials, to the production of primary metal, semi-products and aluminium-based end products. RUSAL is headquartered in Moscow.