Emirates Global Aluminium, the world's largest aluminum producer, is planning to build a $4 billion aluminum plant in Oklahoma in a move that the White House says would double the nation's current production capacity.
The production plant is planned for more than 350 acres at the Tulsa Port of Inola, a 2,200-acre industrial park about 15 miles east of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The inland port has access to rail as well as barge transportation via the Verdigris River that ultimately connects to the Mississippi River. Upon the completion of the aluminum plant, the facility is expected to be the largest of its kind in the United States.
“The United States has been an important market for EGA for several decades, and we know there is strong demand for our high-quality metal ‘made in America,'" said Emirates Global Aluminium CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, in a statement Friday.
Bin Kalban signed a memorandum of understanding detailing the planned investment alongside Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on April 21 at the governor's mansion. While the memorandum of understanding is not legally binding, it outlines plans to produce billets, sheet ingots, high-purity aluminum and foundry alloys. It would be the first new aluminum plant in the United States in 45 years.
Stitt said, in a statement, that the project would have a "generational impact" on Oklahoma's future.
The agreement is contingent on approval from the Oklahoma Legislature on the terms outlined within the memorandum of understanding. The signed document lays out the project's cost and anticipated production, as well as economic incentives tied to the project.
Emirates Global Aluminium would receive $545 million in tax increment financing funds for the project, as well as several other tax incentives.
The aluminum plant was also mentioned in a press release from the White House unveiling $200 billion in commercial agreements between the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Stitt and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce declined immediate interview requests from CoStar News. The governor is preparing to address the project in his weekly address Wednesday. Emirates Global Aluminium did not immediately respond to an emailed interview request.
The project is slated to create 1,000 jobs and another 1,800 indirect jobs, state officials said. Construction on the plant could begin in 2026, according to the agreement.
John Budd, CEO of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, said in a statement that the announcement "catapults Oklahoma to the forefront of the critical minerals and aluminum industry in the United States."