ALMATY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russian aluminium company SUAL said on Thursday it would press ahead with building a $1.5 billion aluminium plant in northern Kazakhstan.
In October, SUAL signed an agreement to merge with larger Russian rival RUSAL and Swiss commodities trader Glencore in a deal creating the world's largest aluminium company. SUAL will own 22 percent of United Company RUSAL.
Kazakhstan in central Asian produces alumina, the raw material for making aluminium, but has no smelting facilities.
Artyom Volynets, SUAL's Senior Vice President for Business Development, confirmed the new plant will be built in the northern city of Ekibastuz near the border with Russia and will produce 500,000 tonnes of aluminium a year.
The plant would help diversify Kazakhstan's economy, currently heavily reliant on oil exports, he said in a presentation during a visit to the Kazakh commercial capital of Almaty.
SUAL has signed a preliminary deal with U.S. energy firm AES Corp. on power supplies for the smelter.
Kazakhstan's only alumina producer, Alyumini Kazakhstan , plans to raise output to 1.525 million tonnes this year from 1.500 million tonnes in 2005.
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