Industry

The choice of Béjaïa as the location for a new petrochemicals plant and industrial zone was finalised in January 2014, a step forward for the government’s plan to invest in downstream energy as part of its broader goal of diversifying the economy. In that month, Hamou Ahmed Touhami, the governor of Béjaïa, a province on the coast east of Algiers, announced that the town...

Authorities have zeroed in on the automotive industry in their bid to re-industrialise the Algerian economy and reduce import spending. Automotive sales have boomed in recent years and, despite a slowdown in late 2013 and 2014, strong demand for personal vehicles among Algeria’s 38.8m people will continue to drive sector growth. Recent state investments in industrial and...

Pharmaceuticals production capacity in Algeria will increase noticeably in the next few years as several new plants come on-line. Sector authorities have been working to boost domestic output of basic medications for the last decade, and in 2011 the Ministry of Health announced a goal of meeting 70% of demand for pharmaceuticals through local production. The actual...

Hydrocarbons have long served as the backbone of Algeria’s economy, but in the past year there has been a push to encourage activity in other extractive industries, following the introduction of new legislation aimed at increasing mineral production. The text of the new mining bill, which was approved by the National Assembly and the upper house in late January 2014, is...