Interfax citing Mr Alexei Arnautov head of the aluminum giant aluminum division as saying that, United Company RUSAL will decide soon when to commission the Taishet and Boguchany smelters in Siberia.

Mr Arnautov said "The construction of the Boguchany smelter has been put on hold due to today's oversupply of the metal. A decision to resume construction has not yet been reached."

However he said the timeframe for both projects were being analyzed and that decisions should be announced before the end of this year.

Work on the Taishet smelter was suspended in July 2009. RUSAL estimates it will cost approximately USD 339 million to put the first 187,000 tonnes per annum stage of the plant on lone. RUSAL started to build the Taishet smelter back in 20006. The first stage is 60%-complete.

The USD 274-million Boguchany smelter, projected capacity 73,000 tonnes per annum is part of the Boguchany Energy and Metals Project which RUSAL is carrying out with RusHydro.

Mr Arnautov said work on the Boguchany hydro plant was progressing. "The first stage is 90% complete and it will generate its first electricity as early as the end of 2010."

(Sourced from Interfax)