Construction and Real Estate
From The Report: Algeria 2014
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Benefitting from the government’s push for transport infrastructure and public housing, and guided by a new capital-intensive five-year plan, the construction sector has been seeing constant activity. During the 2009-14 five-year period, authorities channelled $286bn to modernise transport infrastructure, expand energy production and improve urban housing. However, while the demand for construction materials and expertise is high, contracts have faced operational constraints. Despite these difficulties, Algeria’s comparative stability in the region continues to garner international interest for a host of development projects that will cover areas such as road and rail construction, energy production and water infrastructure.

As the government channels state funds into its public housing programme, growing private interest is stoking growth in the higher-end residential segment of Algeria’s real estate market along with office and commercial real estate. One positive aspect of the housing programme has been that it has attracted a larger number of foreign contractors to help increase the number of houses Algeria is able to build every year. This chapter contains interviews with Abdelkader Kadi, Minister of Public Works; and Lakhdar Rekhroukh, CEO, Cosider Group.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Despite regulatory challenges, public investment in infrastructure development continues to attract foreign bidders
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Benefitting from the government’s push for transport infrastructure and public housing, and guided by a new capital-intensive five-year plan, the construction sector has been seeing constant activity. This is not only positively impacting local building and contracting firms but also attracting a host of contractors from abroad which are looking to tap into the country’s public tenders – a clear contrast with the more muted levels of activity in Europe. During the 2010-14 five-year period,…

Analysis

Public and private investments aim to make the country self-sufficient in cement
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Algeria continues to have a significant gap between cement demand and production capabilities. Both the state and private operators have been increasing domestic capacity. But amidst a nationwide effort to develop infrastructure, a housing programme prioritised by the government to reduce the housing gap and an economic dynamism that is galvanising private construction across major urban centres, local production does not currently meet the demand for cement. Boosting Production According to figures…

Interview

OBG talks to Abdelkader Kadi, Minister of Public Works
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Interview: Abdelkader Kadi How can intermodal connections between road and maritime transportation be improved? ABDELKADER KADI: Algeria has maintained its focus on upgrading infrastructure to rebalance territorial development. The development of infrastructure in Algeria consists of the following projects: the completion of a new road network that emphasises regional connections, the modernisation of the existing road network in line with international standards, the improvement of operating conditions…

Overview

New measures aim to accelerate development of housing options, as other segments of the market show renewed dynamism
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As the government channels state funds into its public housing programme, growing private interest is stoking growth in the higher-end residential segment of Algeria’s real estate market along with office and commercial real estate. In terms of volume of units, the market is largely driven by the governmental efforts to reduce Algeria’s housing deficit, particularly in the lower three quintiles of the income spectrum. Although this leaves a lot of scope for more participation from private companies,…

Interview

OBG talks to Lakhdar Rekhroukh, CEO, Cosider Group
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Interview: Lakhdar Rekhroukh How is the cement shortage affecting Algeria’s construction industry and how can it be addressed? LAKHDAR REKHROUKH: Algeria has set the goal of increasing cement production in a bid to meet growing local demand for construction materials, reduce the import bill and extend the local value chain. Today, the domestic production of cement is estimated to be at around 18m tonnes per year, which does not fully satisfy local market demand, estimated at 22m tonnes per year. Structural…

Analysis

Quantity counts: Building sufficient affordable housing remains a major challenge
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With a growing and young population and an urbanisation rate approaching 70%, Algeria’s housing deficit is a problem that has been at the centre of government policy for several years. The country’s current housing gap is estimated to be 1.2m homes, according to figures published by the South Africa-based organisation Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa ( CAHFA) in its Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook 2013. The issue combines two major challenges, building sufficient homes at a…