New import arrangements: 33 Air Algerie airplanes banned from flying

Algeria’s production and services sector was victim of the government’s wrong estimation of some economic procedures not studied well. Imports bill has gone up to $40 billion per year since 2008 because of public expense programs, economist says.

• “The Algerian government is in a dangerous crossroads. All the sectors were paralyzed due to the new restrictions on foreign trade including scientific research laboratories and car spare parts,” Abderrahmane Mabtoul told Echorouk.
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• He believes that public companies including airline Air Algerie are the most affected by the decision on forbidding the airline to get spare parts. A total of 33 airplanes have stayed on ground in the international airport of Algiers Houari Boumediene for more than 30 days. This causes 20,000 Euros loss per day to the company.
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• Air Algerie’s CEO said the delay in trips in summer is due to the lack of spare parts. “The new import arrangements are a real catastrophe.”
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• The government reduces those restrictions through the 2010 The Complementary Finance Act. Companies would be able to conduct some urgent transactions through free transfer provided that its value does not exceed 200,000 DZ.
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• The government said its new restrictions on foreign trade are meant to protect local producers.