Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has released an initial operational assessment following recent missile and drone strikes on its Al Taweelah site, located within the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi.

The attacks caused significant damage across the complex, which is one of the largest aluminium production hubs globally. Following the incident, the site—encompassing the smelter, casthouse, power plant, alumina refinery, and recycling plant—was fully evacuated and placed under an emergency shutdown.

Recovery Timeline and Operational Impact

Restoring the facility to full capacity will be a complex, multi-stage industrial undertaking. EGA has outlined the following preliminary expectations:

• Primary Smelter: Resuming operations requires extensive infrastructure repair and the progressive restoration of individual reduction cells. Initial estimates suggest a 12-month timeline for a complete return to primary aluminium production.
• Refinery & Recycling: The Al Taweelah alumina refinery and the recycling plant may see a partial restart earlier, pending a final technical assessment of the damage.
• Supply Chain: To mitigate global shortages, EGA is utilising substantial metal stocks currently in transit (“on the water”) and held in storage facilities within the UAE and overseas.

Leadership Perspective

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, expressed concern for the workforce and the broader economic implications:

“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… making this incident damaging to industries and prosperity worldwide. We will do our very best to support our customers during this difficult period and are working directly with those whose deliveries may be impacted.”

Al Taweelah Production Profile (2025 Data)

The shutdown represents a significant disruption to the global aluminium market based on the site’s high-output capacity: