Manning wants alumina plant for Guyana
Stabroek News
May 28, 2004
(Trinidad Express) Two days after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the country's first aluminium smelter, Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday told a breakfast meeting that the plant's capacity was likely to be doubled and that government wanted as a condition of further aluminium expansion the construction of an alumina plant in Guyana.
Manning told a breakfast meeting organised by the ruling PNM at Crowne Plaza Hotel that Trinidad and Tobago had taken a decision that it will not be importing bauxite for its aluminium plant and would only buy alumina. He said this effectively meant Guyana would be left out and only Jamaica and Suriname will benefit from the move. As a result he wanted to encourage the construction of an alumina plant in the South American Caricom state.
"I said to the chairman of Alcoa that we see ourselves as having a responsibility for the Caribbean ...and we would like to put as a condition for aluminium expansion in Trinidad the construction of alumina facilities in Guyana and his answer was he will examine it," Manning told the breakfast seminar.
Manning said he had been assured by Alcoa's management that they will be willing to consider doubling the capacity of the proposed 250,000 metric tonnes per annum smelter plant if they can get additional cheap natural gas for electricity generation which is crucial for the competitive production of aluminium.