EGA says Al Taweelah output could take a year to recover

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said on Friday full restoration of primary aluminium production at its Al Taweelah site could take up to 12 months, following damage caused by recent missile and drone attacks.

The company said the facility, located at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi, sustained significant damage and was fully evacuated, with operations brought to an emergency shutdown. No life-threatening injuries were reported.

EGA said repairs to critical infrastructure and the gradual restart of reduction cells will be required before production can resume at the smelter.

Some operations may restart sooner, with the alumina (the raw ingredient of aluminium) refinery and recycling plant expected to resume partial production depending on the final damage assessment.

Chief Executive Officer Abdulnasser bin Kalban said: “We are deeply disturbed by this attack on our people, who come from more than 40 nations and were simply doing their jobs. We thank God no one received life-threatening injuries and that those hurt are recovering well.

“Our Al Taweelah site is a foundation of the global economy, and a significant contributor to global supply, making this incident damaging to industries and prosperity worldwide. We will do our very best to support our customers around the world during this difficult period. We are working directly with customers whose deliveries might be impacted by the situation at Al Taweelah.”

Al Taweelah smelter produced 1.6 million tonnes of cast metal in 2025. EGA has substantial metal stock on the water, and on the ground in the UAE and some overseas locations.

The alumina refinery produced 2.4 million tonnes of alumina last year, and met 46 per cent of EGA’s total alumina needs.

Al Taweelah recycling plant has an annual production capacity of 185 thousand tonnes per year.