wiredinUSA August 2012

INDEX

Aluminum makers turn to Middle East?

Al-Faw cable landing station in operation

Trading Charts reports that aluminum production is moving to the Persian Gulf and major industry figures, such as Rio Tinto, Alcoa Inc and Norsk Hydro ASA, believe that the region can produce aluminum more cheaply and attract glob- al market share. The aluminum market is currently oversupplied; market participants suggest that half of the world’s production is unprofitable at current prices. Producers and state-owned companies hope Persian Gulf production can take advantage of local low energy costs and lower shipping rates. Such a shift will be at the cost of more costly aluminum smelters in Europe and America. Rio Tinto, Alcoa and Norsk Hydro have all closed smelters this year as prices fell below the cost of production. Construction is underway on a $10.8 billion joint venture between Saudi Arabian MiningCompanyandAlcoa. AJVbetween Norsk Hydro and Qatar Petroleum reached full capacity of 585,000 tonnes per year last year and Sohar Aluminum, which Rio Tinto owns with Oman Oil and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, reached full capacity in 2009.

ameINFOhas reported the service launch of the Al-FawCable Landing Station (CLS) in Iraq, built by Reliance Globalcom in al- liance with the Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC). With this development, Reliance Globalcom becomes the first private subsea service provider to activate submarine capacity and directly connect Iraq to countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America. Built with an initial design capacity of 680Gbps with two diverse routes, Reliance Globalcom has initially lit 50Gbps on each route to cater for the existing market demand. The two routes are integrated into the Falcon network, thereby offering a resilient network. Considering the low broadband penetration in Iraq, the Falcon landing provides a significant milestone towards establishing direct connectivity from Iraq to the rest of the world, and will help boost the nation’s telecom sector.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - August 2012

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