RusAl plans output growth

RusAl (Russian Aluminum), the world's second biggest aluminum producer, said on Tuesday it planned a substantial output rise in the next two to four years to keep its share of the world aluminum market. Alexander Bulygin, RusAl's chief operating officer announced the company was looking at building new plants in Russia, modernizing existing ones and acquiring new production facilities. "If we want to continue being one of the three leading producers of the metal, we can't do without building or acquiring new facilities," Bulygin said.

RusAl, created in 2000 in a wave of mergers, owns the country's largest aluminum smelters at Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk and Sayanogorsk, as well as the fifth largest plant Novokuznetsk. It produced 2.459 million tons of aluminum in 2001 and plans to raise output slightly to 2.464 million tons in 2002, the Russia Journal reported.