Algeria’s Week: Factories, Ports, Pandemic

Algeria saw a mix of industrial expansion, policy updates, and social issues in the past week. A car parts factory opened in Batna, CMA CGM advanced port investments, and Algeria adjusted its 2025 finance law to attract foreign corporations. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 vaccination rollout continued, and universities assessed the Hirak movement’s impact one year on. Migrant smuggling networks were disrupted, and gender-based violence shelters remained under scrutiny. Sub-Saharan relations faced renewed attention, and housing policy updates emerged alongside oil revenue forecasts.

Investment and Industry: Factory, Ports, and Finance

Sifi Ghrieb Group inaugurated a metal parts factory in Batna using molding technology. The facility will supply components for Algeria’s railway sector, including the tramway expansion. Algeria’s tramway network currently operates in four cities, with plans to extend lines in Algiers and Oran by 2026.

CMA CGM, the French maritime group, confirmed further investment negotiations in Algeria’s port sector. The company is assessing opportunities in container handling and logistics at Algiers Port. Port traffic data for 2024 shows 870,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) processed at Algiers, up 4.2% from 2023.

The 2025 Finance Law introduced tax incentives for foreign corporations investing in manufacturing and logistics. Key measures include a 15% corporate tax rate for new industrial projects and a five-year exemption for export-oriented companies. The law also raised the threshold for foreign ownership in certain sectors to 60%, aligning with earlier 2023 reforms. No figures on projected investment inflows were released.

Public Works: Cities, Ports, and Visibility

Algiers and Constantine ranked among Africa’s Top 10 Most Attractive Cities in 2025, according to a Continental Cities Report. The ranking highlights urban infrastructure, cost of living, and business environment. Constantine’s Tiddis Bridge rehabilitation project, completed in Q4 2024, contributed to its score. Algiers’ port expansion, including a new container terminal, is scheduled for tender in 2025.

Algeria’s industrial cooperation with China advanced with a feasibility study for a Sino-Algerian industrial park in Oued Tlelat, near Oran. The project, estimated at $500 million, aims to produce industrial equipment and spare parts. Negotiations between Algerian and Chinese officials are ongoing, with no completion date announced.

Health: Vaccination and Global Supply

Algeria’s Ministry of Health reported 16,842 new Covid-19 cases in the past seven days, bringing the total to 279,315 since January 2020. The daily average of administered doses reached 32,000, with 12.4 million doses administered to date. The COVAX facility delivered 1.2 million doses in the last month, with another shipment of 800,000 doses expected in April 2025.

No new public health restrictions were reinstated despite the rise in cases. Health authorities cited high vaccination coverage (68% of the population with at least one dose) as the reason for maintaining a light-touch policy.

Universities: Hirak’s Shadow One Year On

A year after the mass Hirak protests of 2024, Algerian universities published assessments of academic and political freedoms. A joint report by the National Council for Higher Education and the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights found that 12 university presidents were replaced following the protests, with 43 faculty members facing disciplinary action for political statements. Student-led assemblies remain restricted under campus regulations.

Enrollment figures for the 2024-2025 academic year show a 3.1% decline in new registrations compared to 2023-2024, attributed to economic pressures and mobility restrictions. The number of international students dropped by 12%, primarily from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Army and Security: Smuggling and Border Control

The Algerian Army reported the dismantling of a migrant smuggling network operating between Algeria and Spain. Nine individuals were arrested in Tlemcen, with evidence of coordination across Algerian and Moroccan territories. Eighteen Moroccan nationals were also arrested in Tindouf for alleged involvement in the same network.

Security operations nationwide recorded 37 arrests linked to terrorism and 118 smuggling-related detentions in the past month. No casualty figures were provided for militant confrontations.

Gender Equality: Shelters and Legal Gaps

A rights group reported that 22 years after Algeria’s pledge to establish national shelters for survivors of gender-based violence, only 12 operational shelters exist nationwide, with capacity for 450 women. The report cited a 2024 Ministry of Solidarity survey showing 8,200 reported cases of domestic violence in 2024, with 62% of victims not seeking help due to stigma or lack of awareness.

Algeria’s domestic violence law, enacted in 2021, remains unaccompanied by implementing regulations, delaying prosecutions. A panel of legal experts called for urgent procedural rules to enforce the law.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Relations, Migration, and History

A human rights group renewed calls for reparations for Moroccans expelled from Algeria in 1975, coinciding with ongoing tensions over Western Sahara. The group cited a 2024 UN report estimating that 25,000 to 30,000 individuals were affected by the expulsions.

Algeria’s expulsion of 2,100 migrants to Niger and Mali in January 2025 drew criticism from rights groups, who cited forced removals without due process. The International Organization for Migration confirmed the returns but provided no details on their legal status.

France and Algeria held low-level talks in Paris on immigrant labor exploitation, focusing on retroactive compensation claims for Algerian workers who arrived in France between 1962 and 1974. No figures were disclosed.

Housing: Policy Updates and Forecasts

Mohamed Ourak, CEO of the National Housing Corporation (CNL), stated that 67,000 housing units were delivered in 2024, meeting 62% of the government’s target for the year. The shortfall was attributed to delays in land expropriations and construction permits.

The Ministry of Housing reported that oil revenues, projected at $32 billion in 2025, will fund 40% of the 2025 housing budget. The remaining 60% will come from domestic borrowing and international aid. The poverty eradication program, funded at $180 million, supported 120,000 households in 2024, with a focus on rural areas.

Balance of the Week

– Industrial: Metal factory opened in Batna; CMA CGM advancing port investments; 2025 Finance Law introduced tax incentives for foreign investors.
– Health: Vaccination rates held steady at 68%; 16,842 new Covid-19 cases reported in the past week.
– Education: Universities assessed Hirak impact; enrollment down 3.1%.
– Security: 27 arrests linked to terrorism; 118 smuggling-related detentions.
– Social: 12 shelters operational for gender-based violence; 8,200 reported cases in 2024.
– Sub-Saharan Africa: Calls for reparations over 1975 expulsions; 2,100 migrants expelled in January.
– Housing: 67,000 units delivered; oil revenues projected at $32 billion for 2025.

Key takeaway for entrepreneurs: Algeria’s 2025 Finance Law offers a 15% corporate tax rate for new industrial projects and a five-year exemption for export companies, with foreign ownership thresholds raised to 60% in targeted sectors. The metal parts factory in Batna signals rising domestic demand in the tramway supply chain, while CMA CGM’s port investments indicate opportunities in logistics and container handling. Tax incentives and infrastructure projects are the main policy signals for investors.