SYDNEY, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday announced a multi-billion-dollar bailout for the nation's largest aluminum smelter after owner Rio Tinto warned it could close in 2028.
Albanese said on Thursday that the federal government and the state government of New South Wales (NSW) will provide 2.5 billion Australian dollars (1.8 billion U.S. dollars) in funding over the next 10 years to keep the Tomago smelter north of Sydney operational for another 10 years from 2029.
Rio Tinto said in October 2025 that the smelter could be forced to cease operations at the end of its current electricity supply contract, which expires at the end of 2028, due to the rising cost of coal-fired and renewable energy.
The facility near the city of Newcastle in NSW's Hunter region is Australia's largest aluminum smelter, supplying about 40 percent of the national production, and is the country's single largest electricity user.
Albanese told reporters on Thursday that the bailout would protect Australia's national interest.
"The idea that we sit and allow this facility to just disappear would have had consequences. We cannot afford to be at the end of supply chains. We need to be a country that makes things," he said.
The bailout funding will be split evenly between the federal and NSW governments.
Under the deal, operators of the facility have agreed to invest a minimum of 1.1 billion AUD (780 million USD) on top of the government funding to reduce the facility's energy usage. ■
