China OKs alumina projects of 1.5 mln tns capacity

China has approved one greenfield alumina project and another expansion project that would increase its annual production capacity for alumina, the main input for aluminium, by 1.5 million tonnes, the country's top planning body said.

Yunnan Aluminium Co Ltd. got the green light to build an alumina project with annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes in Wenshan, in southwest China's Yunnan province, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website.

Aluminium Corporation of China, or Chalco, also won approval to expand annual capacity at its alumina project in Zhongzhou in central China's Henan province by 700,000 tonnes.

The website did not disclose the cost of the two projects or when production would start.

Chalco, the country's biggest maker of aluminium, has said it expected China to produce between 25 million and 27 million tonnes of alumina this year, up from 19.5 million tonnes in 2007.

Chalco's Hong Kong-listed shares rose 2.68 percent on Monday morning to HK$8.42, compared with a 1.36 percent rise in Hong Kong's benchmark index <.HSI>, while its Shanghai-listed shares rose 3.58 percent to 13.60 yuan, in line with the Shanghai benchmark index's <.SSEC> 3.98 percent gain.

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