The new plant may become an electric energy consumer of several Far Eastern hydropower plants whose construction HydroOGK, a company 100% owned by Russia's electricity monopoly Unified Energy System, is considering.
Established in December 2004, HydroOGK holds 15 stakes in Russian hydroelectric power plants, or half of the country's hydroelectric resources.
The aluminum plant is expected to yield 600,000 metric tons of primary aluminum a year and consume about 9 billion KW/h of energy, which is more than 20% of the current electricity output in the Far East. The site for the plant is to be chosen by 2007.
The project requires a long-term contract for electric power supplies.
"If an agreement on the joint project is reached, the sides will sign the deal and launch all the necessary legal and administration procedures," the news release said.
The hydropower potential of the Far East, estimated at 294 bln KW/h a year, is only 4% used. New plants in the area will help provide long-term and cost-efficient energy supplies and partially replace expensive thermopower plants.
HydroOGK is also in talks with other potential consumers of electric power and is considering exports to energy-hungry China.
One of the world's top 10 aluminum companies, SUAL has enterprises in nine Russian regions and in Ukraine, and annually mines over 5.4 million metric tons of bauxite, some 2.3 mln metric tons of alumina, over 1 mln tons of primary aluminum, and about 60,000 metric tons of silicon. It also manufactures aluminum products, including foil, wire, and wheel rims, and exports 80% of production.
Hydro Aluminium is the world's third biggest aluminum company and has enterprises in 40 countries. Hydro is a leading oil and gas producer on shelf deposits.
