ZURICH (AFX) - Swedish-Swiss engineering group ABB Ltd said it has been awarded a 39 mln usd contract by Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal) to upgrade rectifier, transformer and automation systems at its smelter complex in Dubai.

Commissioning of the new ABB systems will begin during July 2007 and is set for completion in March 2008, the company said.

The project includes replacing five high-voltage regulating rectifier transformers with larger units, to increase capacity and allow Dubal to combine two existing smelting potlines, it said.

Rectifiers are devices that convert alternating current to direct current.

Dubai Aluminium operates the largest single-site aluminium smelter in the Western world, with an annual output exceeding 850,000 metric tons.