Following a special meeting of its Board of Directors, Sohar Aluminium (SA) announced that it has successfully concluded a transaction with a diverse group of International Banks to refinance its existing debt that was originally taken to fund the construction of the Smelter and associated facilities. The Board of Directors consists of representatives from Sohar Aluminium’s shareholders – OQ S.A.O.C, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC – TAQA, and Rio Tinto.

SA was founded in 2004 as the Sultanate of Oman’s landmark Greenfield aluminium smelter with an annual capacity of over 390,000 tonnes of high-quality aluminium, a dedicated 1,000 MW Power Plant, and Port facilities.

The original project loan was financed by a consortium of local and international banks for a period of 15 years during which SA proved its mettle as a reliable company and delivered to and above expectations. As a testament to SA’s outstanding performance over the years and its strong history, SA was able to attract a healthy mix of banks based in Oman, the GCC and internationally to refinance its debt despite the current challenging market conditions.

Earlier this year SA was conferred the highest honour for industries in Oman when it was awarded the 1st position for His Majesty the Sultan’s Award for Industrial Excellence with the highest score across all criteria and measures. This is the third time that the company was awarded this prestigious award and is a tribute to its mature business processes making it an important player in Oman’s industrial sector.

Sohar Aluminium continues to remain committed to its goals and ambitions to become a benchmark smelter while contributing to the sustainable development of Oman.