BANJA LUKA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), September 25 (SeeNews) – Bosnia's Alumina said on Wednesday it has invested some 70 million marka ($39.3 million/35.8 million) since 2013, when its parent company, alumina plant Birac went bankrupt.
Alumina has built more than 16,000 square metres of new facilities, as it has increased its products range from four to 26, the company said in a press release published on its website.
The company's biggest investment in the last three years is the production of fine precipitated hydrates project, worth 30 million marka. The production facility covers some 10,000 square metres, as the exports 10,000 tons of its product, annually.
Alumina is able to produce 40,000 tons of fine precipitated hydrates per year, as the number will increase to 60,000 tonnes once the next phase of the project is completed by the end of the year.
The aluminum plant exports almost all of its products to some 40 countries on five continents in the world, the press release said.
The company currently employs some 1,530 workers, as their average net monthly salary amounts to 1,038 marka.
Birac entered bankruptcy in 2013 and was raided by police and tax inspectors over suspected illegal dealings in several transactions. Prior to the Birac bankruptcy, Ukio Bank, which itself went bankrupt in 2013, owned 56.8% of the alumina producer following a 2001 privatisation deal.
Currently, 60% of Alumina's production is hydrate and alumina from the non-smelter programme and the remainder is smelter alumina.
The company is situated in the Serb Republic, one of two autonomous entities forming Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Serb Republic.
(1 euro = 195583 marka)