Qatar and Algeria sign strategic partnership accords

Algeria and Qatar have signed 8 partnership agreements and memorandum of understandings in various sectors of activities including oil, gas, petrochemical industry and steel one with the presence of the Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and the prince of Qatar Cheikh Hamed Ben Khelifa Thani, who paid an official visit to Algeria.

A joint venture in a steel complex has been signed between the two parties by the CEO of the Algerian company Cidar Hasnaoui Chiboub and the Director General of the national fund of investment Haddad Hocine, while the Qatari side was represented by head of Qatar Steel International Ali Ben Hocine Al Merikhi.

The small and medium sized ministry has indicated that the steel complex which is due to be built in the region of Belara , Jijel , eastern Algeria will have a tremendous economic impact on the Algeria industry as a whole.

The project will save the country he sums of money and reduce the import bill of this strategic good. To recall, Algeria has spent $ 7 billion in 2012 for the import of 2.7 million tons of steel.

The country counts among the largest importers in the world despite the abundance of this natural resources on its own territory, but remains unexploited.

The complex is set to produce 1 million ton of steel during the first production phase and create some 1000 direct jobs and 8000 indirect ones upon the completion of the second phase of the project.