New Kerala - 16/4/2006

Qatar's Energy and Industry Minister Abdallah al -Attiyah and the Chief Executive Officer of Norsk Hydro Eivind Reiten have signed an agreement in Doha to form a joint venture to develop, construct and operate the Qatalum aluminium plant in Qatar.

Production at the plant will begin sometime in 2009, while its full production capacity is to be reached a year later.

The Qatalum joint venture company will be established to build and operate the primary aluminium plant, which comprises a smelter having an initial capacity of 585,000 tons of primary aluminium per year, a cast house, a carbon plant and a dedicated gas power plant that will have an initial capacity of 1,350 mw.

The power plant will provide energy to the project, but at the same time it will serve the national grid of Qatar.

Qatalum will help improve Norsk Hydro's relative cost position in the production of primary aluminium.