In the largest non-ferrous project awarded to Chinese companies to date, two Chinese firms yesterday landed an aluminum complex contract in Saudi Arabia.

China Non-ferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co Ltd (NFC) and China National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH), signed an agreement with Saudi company Western Way for Industrial Development Co (WWIDC) to develop an alumina and aluminum complex in Jazan Economic City.

The Jazan project will produce 1.6 million tons of alumina and 700,000 tons of aluminum annually. With a total investment of over 5 billion U.S. dollars, it will be one of the largest aluminum complexes in the world, said WWIDC.

"With Chinese supply, we gain a low-cost and quality project, and in conjunction with their foreign partners, the best technology and operating support," said Abdullah Basodan, president of WWIDC.

NFC is one of the top contractors in the world. It has designed and built many projects in the non-ferrous metal sector such as ferroalloy plants, zinc smelters and alumina plants. Its projects are located in Asia, Australia and the Middle East, said company president Luo Tao.

"NFC is fully confident that it will build a world-class complex. This will be among the largest facilities ever built outside China by Chinese companies, and will also be one of the largest aluminum producers in the world," he said.

"As a State-owned enterprise, SINOMACH has taken an active part in the international project contracting business. It is working on the Trinidad-Tobago aluminum factory project, which is the largest international project ever undertaken by China in Central America and the Caribbean," said Ren Hongbin, president of SINOMACH.

With Chinese contractors quickly expanding their market share in recent years, China has become the sixth-largest engineering contractor in the world, with a turnover of 21.76 billion dollars in 2005.