ABU DHABI (REUTERS) - Dubal Holding, Dubai Investments and Singapore-based industrial group MARS are investing US$120 million (S$162 million) to build an aluminium rolling plant in Abu Dhabi's industrial free zone, a statement said on Monday.

Emirates Aluminium Rolling LLC (Emiroll), as the joint venture will be called, plans to manufacture 65,000 tonnes of aluminium coils annually and expects to start up in the third quarter of 2017, the statement from Dubai Investments said.

The plant in the capital of the United Arab Emirates is part of the Gulf Arab state's attempts to diversify its economy away from hydrocarbons, on which it is spending billions of dollars to fund and attract investments in areas including industry, tourism and infrastructure.

Dubal Holding, a unit of sovereign fund Investment Corporation of Dubai, and MARS will each hold a 35 per cent stake in Emiroll, and Dubai Investments will take the remaining 30 per cent.