Broader Discussion on the “Baladna” Milk Production Project
On Sunday, the Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Karim Bibi Triki, received Ali Al-Ali, Advisor to the Board of Directors of the Qatari company “Baladna”.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Post, this meeting is part of the preparations for launching the Algerian-Qatari joint integrated project to produce powdered milk in the wilaya of Adrar (southern Algeria).
The Minister confirmed the sector’s commitment, through its affiliated institutions, to accompany the project by providing communications networks, with various technologies (fixed, mobile and via satellite), to ensure quality services for its optimal operation, based on the technological solutions which will be adopted for the success of this important project.
Previously, the Minister of Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Ali Aoun, revealed, on Thursday, new details concerning the Baladna project and the construction work which was launched in Adrar.
Indeed, according to Minister Aoun, this structuring project will not be exclusively intended for the production of milk powder but also 100% Algerian infant milk: “The Baladna factory in Adrar will also produce infant milk with an annual production capacity of 30,000 tons in a progressive manner because we will try to overcome the constraints of the rights held by certain countries to launch this production”, he declared during a press briefing held on Thursday, September 12, at the ministry’s building, on the sidelines of a meeting with officials of the Qatari group.
After the signing, at the end of April 2024, of a framework agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Qatari company “Baladna” for the implementation of an integrated project for the production of powdered milk in southern Algeria, the work to implement the first phase of the project, for which a total area of 117,000 hectares was dedicated in the commune of Timokten, daïra of Aoulef (Adrar), was launched at the beginning of September.
The first phase of production of this megaproject is the result of a partnership between the National Investment Fund (FNI) and the Qatari Baladna Company, whose investment amount exceeds USD 3.5 billion, and will be launched in 2026.
The project will produce 50% of the national needs in powdered milk, supply the local market with red meat and create 5000 direct jobs, in addition to its contribution to the production of cereals and livestock feed within the framework of the application of the crop rotation system at the three poles of the project.
The project will be carried out through several stages, namely the drilling of exploratory wells to study the nature of groundwater and the establishment of innovative mechanisms to preserve it and supply this flagship project, the cultivation of cereals to produce the food necessary for raising herds of cows, then the construction of farms for breeding and the production of red meat, and finally the creation of a powdered milk production plant.
Thanks to the project, the region will be home to an integrated farm with more than 270,000 head of cattle, producing nearly 1.7 billion litres of milk per year using the latest techniques in cattle breeding and the dairy industry and respecting quality and environmental sustainability standards.
The project will also provide, during the implementation phase, 10,000 temporary jobs for the construction of the living base and the various structures of the project, while the project managers plan in the future to extend this investment across the other regions of the country with its components (livestock feed cultivation, cattle breeding, milk and red meat production).
