Preparations underway for Jamalco upgrade

Jamaican aluminum refinery Jamalco is readying assessment and training programs in preparation for a US$690mn expansion project funded by its majority shareholder, US aluminum company Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), The Jamaica Gleaner reported. The two-year expansion effort, expected to start early next year, is designed to increase capacity to 2.65Mt/y from today's level of 1.25Mt/y, the paper said. To achieve this, Jamalco will need to train welders, pipe fitters or millwrights for skilled jobs. "It takes you over four years to train people in these skills, but there are a lot of people at an intermediate stage who you can assess and bring up to speed," Jamalco managing director Jerome Maxwell was quoted as saying in the paper. The plant employs 540 workers and will add on another 50-100 people when upgrades are complete. Alcoa holds 60% of the Jamalco refinery, where it will likely pay another US$44mn in taxes annually due to the upgrade, the paper said.