Industry & Mining
From The Report: Algeria 2016
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The largest country in Africa, Algeria remains mainly underexplored as regards non-hydrocarbons mineral deposits, pointing to major potential opportunities in the mining sector. The authorities are keen to develop the industry, not only in order to boost minerals output itself, but also to provide raw materials for a range of emerging industries. The new mining law and the incentives it contains should help to attract additional interest, while new rail connections should ease logistics connections for miners’ output. This chapter contains interviews with Ali Boumediene, CEO, Bomare; and Reda Hechelaf, CEO, SOPI.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Core activities: Development supported by incentives and government efforts to increase local production
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Despite the availability of cheap energy and a range of local natural resources, non-hydrocarbons industry in Algeria has been slow to develop. However, amid efforts by the government to prioritise the sector as part of its diversification plans, there are signs that it is beginning to take off, supported by incentives for investment and the planned development of 50 new industrial zones. The country has already become a significant manufacturer of products including electronic goods and…

Analysis

Gearing up: The country has set its sights on higher fertiliser production
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With among the largest gas reserves in the world, Algeria is set to emerge as one of the largest international producers of phosphates in the coming years. Together with cheap energy prices and its close proximity to a range of markets, these factors make the country ideally suited to large-scale fertiliser production and export. Domestic production has been ramping up in recent years and is set to continue to do so following a major investment in the sector announced in mid-2016. Joint…

Interview

Building value: Ali Boumediene, CEO, Bomare, on expanding the industrial base
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Interview: Ali Boumediene What can be done to further improve the business climate in Algeria? ALI BOUMEDIENE: The first thing that we need to re-examine is the 51:49 rule. If we want to see a real increase in the transfer of technology and know-how, we need to make the local business climate more attractive, and that begins with opening up the economic environment and ultimately removing the 51:49 rule. This is particularly true with respect to sectors such as industry and specifically high-tech…

Overview

On the cusp: Thanks to abundant, underexplored mineral deposits, mining output is set to soar
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The largest country in Africa, Algeria remains mainly underexplored as regards non-hydrocarbons mineral deposits, pointing to major potential opportunities in the mining sector. The authorities are keen to develop the industry, not only in order to boost minerals output itself, but also to provide raw materials for a range of emerging industries as part of wider efforts to diversify the economy away from its heavy reliance on oil and gas production. To this end, a new law regulating the industry…

Interview

Industrial strength: Reda Hechelaf, CEO, SOPI, on encouraging investment and sectoral reforms
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Interview: Reda Hechelaf How would you assess the current state of the agro-industrial sector in Algeria? REDA HECHELAF: The majority of investments in this sector have been made since the 2000s, and have been for modern equipment and processes. In 1991 the state began to open the economy to private operators and took a more relaxed position on imports. As a consequence, in the following years there was a huge increase in imports, due in part to the fact that many local products were of poor quality.…