Algeria and Qatar have signed an accord for the construction of a steel plant in Algeria.

The agreement is to jointly build a steel plant in the Bellara industrial zone near Jijel, 359km east of Algiers with a production capacity of 10Mt/y. The aim is to help Algeria reduce its import costs by an estimated $10bn annually, or 20%.

This was one of eight accords signed between the two countries.

Official media did not specify the estimated cost of the project, but a report published in the pro-government Algerian daily El- Moudjahid said the total estimated cost of the energy, mining and industry agreements that were signed during the Qatari Emir one-day visit was around $5bn.

Source: Daily ‘Gulf Times’, Doha & Daily ‘Qatar Tribune’, Doha.