Algeria : government subsidies building materials, punishes speculators

In a last ditch-effort to curb of the prices, the Algerian authorities resorted to subsidize iron destined for the development projects planned by the government.

Meanwhile, it was decided as from Tuesday to scrupulously track the destinations of the cement produced in factories, following reports issued by the relevant services showing that the overall price’s hike of this building material on the international markets didn’t exceed 4% in comparison with last year.

Talking in a conference call, the housing minister , Noureddine Moussa declared that joint committees, including different sectors of activities, have been set up to supervise this operation.

The housing minister added that speculators played a major role in the soaring prices of cement. First elements of the inquiry revealed that private contractors are retailing the product with a strong price, while factories are selling it to them with small bill increase in comparison to last year.

M Moussa went on saying that the government will subsidize the prices of iron, whose value witnessed a sudden surge on the international markets to cushion the overall costs of the projects financed by the Algerian treasury.