United Co. Rusal (486), the world’s largest aluminum producer, is considering building a new smelter to replace the aging facility at its Bogoslovsk plant in Russia’s Sverdlovsk region.

After a feasibility study, it would take as long as 5 years to construct a smelter with annual capacity of 396,000 metric tons of aluminum, Rusal said in a statement on its website today.

A decision to proceed would only be taken if Rusal was able to agree on low-cost electricity supplies for the plant with the regional government.

The Bogoslovsk smelter was built in the 1940s and, given current market conditions and aluminum prices, is one of the least efficient among Rusal’s units, according to a statement from the company.

To contact the reporter on this story: Yuliya Fedorinova in Moscow at yfedorinova@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net