Iceland's parliament approves of Alcoa's smelter
Date: 07-Mar-03
Country: DENMARK
After gaining parliamentary approval, Alcoa (AA.N), the world's biggest aluminium producer, only needs to have plans for a 322,000 tonne smelter approved by the European Surveillance Authority.
Thorsteinn Hilmarsson, the press officer of Iceland's national power producer Landsvirkjun, one of Alcoa's future partners in Iceland, said he did not expect the contracts to be delayed.
"We aim at having the contracts signed by the middle of this month," Hilmarsson said.
Although plans to build the smelter in Icelandic wilderness have caused an environmental controversy ahead of Iceland's May general elections, the bill was approved with 41 votes for and only nine against it.
Environmentalists are critical of Landsvirkjun's plans to divert two major glacial rivers into a valley in the Icelandic highlands, creating a large reservoir to power Alcoa's smelter, but supporters point out the plant will fuel the small nation's economy and create jobs.
