The opening of the new ALPART/JISCO Alumina Refinery in Nain, St Elizabeth this morning brings a ray of hope to an industry which has been losing its impact on the economy, after decades of being a top performer for Jamaica.

Minister of Transport and Mining Mike Henry says that he is excited about the development and is looking forward to the revival of the entire industry, with increased job creation, and linkages with other sectors of the local economy, including accommodation for the workers, promising to create a base for the revival of St Elizabeth and neighbouring parishes.

“I am looking at a full revival of the industry. I took on an unfinished programme and I have finished it, and now the whole thing is pulling together and I am excited about what it can contribute to the economy,” Henry said yesterday.

Preparatory activities have been in high gear for several months, and approximately 800 more Jamaicans in the area are now employed.

Henry notes that the new owner, Jiuquan Iron & Steel (Group) Co Ltd (JISCO) of China, is already sensitising the communities around the plant and mining areas, and there will be a huge demand for electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical engineers for operation and maintenance activities.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be the main speaker at today’s event, titled the “Production Restart Ceremony-JISCO’s Partnership in Jamaica’s Progress”, and JISCO’s chairman, Chen Chunming, is among scheduled speakers.

All eyes have been on the Alpart reopening since Russian aluminum marketer UC Rusal announced that it had agreed to sell Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) to JISCO.

Rusal has been paid US$300 million for the Alpart plant, and the sale forms part of its efforts to improve its debt ratio. JISCO and Rusal have also established a consulting and technical services agreement, in order to facilitate the hand-off. The agreement will last for 18 months after the sale’s closing.

“We are very pleased with the achieved agreement,” Vladislav Soloviev, CEO of Rusal, said recently.

“The deal is of financial interest for us, in that it does not affect the vertically integrated production chain of the company. RUSAL’s production facilities both in Russia and abroad fully satisfy the company’s alumina demand while the company-owned bauxite resources ensure our plants’ performance for the next 100 years and more,” he said.

Also conditional on the availability of bauxite reserves, JISCO is planning the construction of a second alumina refinery just to the south of the old, 49-year-old Alpart plant.

“People wonder about the sustainability. China has the most advanced alumina-processing techniques in the world. I can promise you that we will bring the most environmentally friendly techniques along with energy solutions,” Chen Chunming has promised.

Minister Henry said that the economic benefits to Jamaica of the plant’s reopening are already being felt, as more than 800 jobs have been added to the workforce.

He says once fully operational JISCO could be spending approximately 171 million Jamaican dollars monthly on salaries.

He said that he is fully satisfied with the progress made so far, and has encouraged JISCO to ensure that ALPART’s enviable safety record is kept intact, while they engage the communities to build a solid relationship and seek to correct at least seven years of legacy issues they had inherited.

Turning to the employment ratio of Jamaicans to Chinese, Minister Henry said the majority of the 267 JISCO workers are here temporarily to work alongside the Jamaicans in the preparatory stages — and after the start-up of the plant most of them will return to China

At the time of its closure, Alpart’s capacity was 1.65 million metric tons of alumina and 4.9 million metric tons of bauxite (sourced from its own mines). Rusal acquired a 65 per cent share in the operation in 2007 when it acquired Glencore’s alumina business, and came into possession of the remainder in 2011.

JISCO was founded in 1958 in Jiayuguan, Gansu, China. The firm has operations in China, South Africa, the Philippines, and Mongolia, and produces approximately eight million short tons of crude and rolled steel per annum.

With this sale, JISCO takes its place in the top 10 producers of aluminium in China. It has been in the top 500 Chinese producers for several years.

Henry said that given JISCO’s huge investment and plans to develop the agricultural sector in St Elizabeth he was leaving no stone unturned until the refinery is fully operational.