Construction & Real Estate

Algeria’s construction sector remains buoyant despite the impact of the significant drop in global oil prices, with the government continuing its support for the main social programmes and infrastructure projects as a means of diversifying the economy. A new five-year investment plan for the period 2015-19 worth €233.7bn was approved by the government in late 2014 to build upon the achievements of the first plan of this sort for the 2005-09 period, which was worth €178.4bn, and the 2010-14 plan worth €255.1bn. The real estate market has in recent years seen a proliferation of private property developers seeking to tap into growing demand among the upper and middle classes for mid-to-high-end residential property, shopping malls, quality hotels and tourist resorts. However, demand remains highest for low-income units, which the public sector is looking to address. Supply is constrained as a result of the scarcity of land available for new development, dampening interest among private developers and resulting in the government building much of its new social housing stock in greenfield areas. This chapter contains interviews with Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Minister of Housing and Urban Development; and Samer Khoury, President of Engineering and Construction, Consolidated Contractors Company.