China to build aluminum smelter in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: China will help build a US$400 million aluminum smelter in Trinidad's southern region, according to the leader of the Caribbean island.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning did not say when construction would start or how many tons of aluminum would be produced yearly.

Trinidad would run the factory using its vast resources of natural gas, Manning said late Wednesday.

The country is the leading supplier of liquid natural gas to the U.S. and the second-largest energy producer on the Caribbean Sea after nearby Venezuela.

The smelter would be built close to Pitch Lake, the world's largest natural asphalt reservoir. It would help boost production of aluminum, one of Trinidad's main commodities, Manning said.

Environmentalists who successfully lobbied against another smelter two years ago have filed an injunction against the project.

The factory would be located roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) from where U.S.-based Alcoa Inc. had planned to build a US$1.5 billion smelter. Manning rejected its plans based on complaints from local residents about air and water pollution.

The smelter would be one of more than a dozen Chinese-funded projects in Trinidad, including a university campus, a cultural center and several high-rise government buildings.

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