Hindalco and JSW group are in talks with officials of the Abu Dhabi government’s

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special economic zone to set up refining and processing plants in the emirate’s latest industrial zone at Kizad, which promises cheap fuel and quality infrastructure.

Officials close to the development told Financial Chronicle that the companies are in advanced talks with emirates officials to set up processing facilities that will value-add to the molten liquid metal supplied to them via hot metal roads.

The industrial zone, replete with $10 billion worth of infrastructure, is being marketed as an alternative to Dubai’s Jebel Ali free trade zone to allow port-based trade of merchandise.

When contacted for details of the investment planned, officials at Hindalco and JSW Steel declined to comment.

Khaled Salmeen, executive vice-president for industrial zones at Abu Dhabi Ports Company, told Financial Chronicle that a lot of Indian firms in aluminum, steel, engineered metal pro­ducts, petrochemicals, pha­r­ma­ceuticals and paper and packaging segments are in talks with them to set up units at Kizad.

“We are providing companies with cheaper options and ready infrastructure with easy accessibility to coastal trade, which is difficult to find anywhere,” he said.

“A West Asian company has already set up a hot metal plant for aluminum, which would provide the molten metal at very high temperatures, technology for which is not available in India. Indian companies can use the liquid for their processing plants at Kizad at whatever temperatures they want. Also, they would have ready access to transport, with conveyor belts that would directly load and offload to vessels at sea,” said Salmeen.

The first phase of Kizad is 86 per cent complete and would be complete by the fourth quarter of next calendar year. However, allotment of plots will commence before the completion.

Abu Dhabi Ports Company, which would operate Kizad, has already signed 40 deals with firms worldwide with $5.5 billion invested and around $4.5 billion committed to be invested over the next few years. The richest emirate in the United Arab Emirates wants one-third of the investments at Kizad to come from India.

Salmeen said they are also in talks with few pharmaceutical companies such as Dr Reddy’s Labs and Cadila Healthcare to set up plants at Kizad. However, officials at these companies could not be reached for comments.