8-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 17, 2003

                   Alcan Inc.                 
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

                        Canada                       
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

1-3677	Inapplicable
Commission File Number	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1188 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 3G2
(Address of principal executive offices, including postal code)

                         (514) 848-8000                        
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

ITEM 5.	Other Events
	The information set forth in the press releases issued by Alcan Inc. dated January 17, 2003, attached hereto as Exhibits 99.1 is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 7.	Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Statements and Exhibits
	(c)	Exhibits
	99.1	Press release of Alcan Inc., dated January 17, 2003.
	99.2	Cautionary Statement for purposes of the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	ALCAN INC.
By	/s/ Roy Millington
	Roy Millington
	Corporate Secretary

Date: January 17, 2003

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number	Description
(99.1)	Press release of Alcan Inc. dated January 17, 2003.
(99.2)	Cautionary statement for purposes of the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

EX-99.1

EXHIBIT NO. 99.1: Press release of Alcan Inc. dated January 17, 2003

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARBITRATOR RULES ON ALCAN - POWEREX/BC HYDRO DISPUTE

Montreal, Canada - January 17, 2003 - Late Friday, Alcan Inc. (NYSE, TSX: AL) received a decision following arbitration hearings held in December 2002 on a contractual dispute between Powerex (a subsidiary of BC Hydro) and Alcan. The arbitrator confirmed Powerex's claim for US$100 million. Under the circumstances Alcan expects to provide for this contingent liability in its fourth quarter results as a non-recurring charge. Alcan will report its fourth quarter earnings on January 21, 2003.

The dispute stemmed from a contract that Powerex claimed was terminated due to the bankruptcy of Enron Power Marketing Inc. (an affiliate of Enron Corporation) and for which Alcan retained certain liabilities. Given the strength of its defense, Alcan is surprised by the ruling and is reviewing the arbitrator's decision, in order to determine the extent of the Company's rights, obligations and future courses of action.

A standstill agreement currently is in effect where Alcan and Powerex have agreed that no action will be taken to set aside or enforce the arbitrator's decision pending discussions between the parties. One of the issues that will be discussed is the means by which the decision may be satisfied by the supply of electrical power.

Through its Kemano Power plant located in Northern British Columbia, Alcan produces approximately 800 MW of electric power, which is primarily consumed in its Kitimat, B.C. aluminum smelter. The amount of power under dispute is 167 MW for the year 2002 and 81 MW for the next 12 years.

Alcan is a multinational, market-driven company and a global leader in aluminum and specialty packaging with 2001 revenues of US$12.6 billion. With world-class operations in primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum as well as flexible and specialty packaging, Alcan is well positioned to meet and exceed its customers' needs for innovative solutions and service. Alcan employs 48,000 people and has operating facilities in 38 countries.

-30-

Media contact 

Daniel Gagnier

(514) 848-8118

Investor contact 

Jo-Ann Longworth

(514) 848-8368

Backgrounder

• In 1997, as part of the claim settlement arrangements related to the British Columbia Government's cancellation of the Kemano Completion Project, Alcan received the right to transfer a portion of a power supply contract with BC Hydro to a third party.
• In 1997, Alcan sold the right to supply power until 31 December 2014 (167 MW to the end of 2002 and 81 MW for the remaining period) to Enron Power Marketing Inc. (EPMI), a subsidiary of Enron Corporation (Enron) for a cash consideration.
• In order to obtain the consent of BC Hydro to this sale, Alcan was required to retain residual liability for EPMI's performance of the power supply contract in the event that EPMI became unable to perform.
• This contingent obligation was subject to a maximum aggregate amount of $100 million, with mitigation and subrogation rights. It was also guaranteed by Enron.
• On 2 December 2001, EPMI and Enron filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Powerex, the BC Hydro affiliate which now holds the rights to the portion of the power supply contract transferred to EPMI, maintained that it terminated the power supply contract and as a result filed a claim for $100 million against Enron on 15 March 2002.
• On 20 February 2002, Powerex announced its intention to pursue a claim and Alcan announced its intention to contest.
• The status of the Powerex claim was described in Alcan's Annual Report for 2001 and in the quarterly financial statements for the first, second and third quarters of 2002.
• The arbitration proceedings took place in Oregon during December 2002 and the arbitrator's decision was issued on 17 January 2003, and was received by Alcan after the close of markets, supporting the claim by Powerex ordering Alcan to pay the sum of US$100 million.
• Given the strength of its defense, Alcan is surprised by the ruling and is reviewing the arbitrator's decision, in order to determine the extent of the Company's rights, obligations and future courses of action,

EX-99.2

EXHIBIT NO. 99.2: CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE "SAFE HARBOR" PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

Written or oral statements made by Alcan or its representatives, including statements set forth in Alcan's press release issued January 17, 2003, which describe the Company's or management's objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or predictions of the future may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "estimates," "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon. The Company cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements or could affect the extent to which a particular projection is realized.

Important factors which could cause the Company's actual performance to differ materially from projections or expectations included in forward-looking statements include global aluminum supply and demand conditions, aluminum ingot prices and changes in other raw materials costs and availability, cyclical demand and pricing within the principal markets for the Company's products, changes in government regulations, particularly those affecting environmental, health or safety compliance, economic developments and other factors within the countries in which the Company operates or sells its products and other factors relating to the Company's ongoing operations including, but not limited to, litigation, labour negotiations and fiscal regimes.

Copies of the Company's filings may be obtained by contacting the Company or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.