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Silk Road Briefing Business: Jul 27, 2021
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has concluded his Middle East tour – his second this year – with a trip to discuss bilateral matters with the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
Wang stated the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has great potential and space for development, adding that China encourages its enterprises to invest and do business in Algeria. China is willing to work with Algeria into tangible results, help Algeria accelerate its pace of industrialization, and enhance its capacity for independent development.
Tebboune said that both countries have entered a new stage of development, and they intend to deepen cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, investment, energy, mining, and infrastructure construction under the BRI framework, so to achieve common development which will also benefit other developing countries. Algeria is also prepared to work with China to promote trilateral cooperation with Africa.
Both parties agreed to speed up consultations on signing the five-year plan for China-Algeria comprehensive strategic cooperation and the implementation plan for jointly constructing the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is involved with the development of Algeria’s El Hamdania Central Port, which will be Algeria’s largest and first deep-water port and the second deep-water port in Africa..
Located 90 miles from Algiers, Algeria envisions the Port of El Hamdania as a regional hub for North Africa in the Mediterranean, competing with Morocco’s Tangier-Med Port. It will have a capacity of 25 million tons per year and 23 terminals capable of handling up to 6.5 million 20-foot containers.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the project, an initiative of former-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was signed in January 2016. The MOU committed the China State Construction Engineering Company (CSCEC), China Harbor Engineering Company (CHECH), and the Algerian Port Authority to the project. In exchange for Chinese financing, the agreement handed the port’s operations to China for the first 25 years.
There have been political holdups with the development, however construction began in May this year. El Hamdania could represent new business opportunities in the port development and equipment sectors. With a project budget of US$3.3 billion, international port development and equipment companies should monitor procurement opportunities for computer systems and software; design and planning services; dredging; security systems, services, and technology; terminal technologies and systems; and vessel traffic information systems.
About 1,000 Chinese companies operate in Algeria. The government has identified key areas where Algeria can leverage its competitive advantage, including solar energy, phosphates, gold, uranium, zinc, and iron ore – resources vital for the development of both Algeria and China.
Algeria is a member of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which came into effect from January 1 this year and has largely abolished all intra-African trade tariffs. This means that ports such as El Hamdania will flourish as Free Trade Zones will also be part of these developments. That means that component parts can be imported duty free, matched with African sourced products, with finished products either re-exported or sold back onto the African continental market.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has concluded his Middle East tour – his second this year – with a trip to discuss bilateral matters with the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.
Wang stated the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries has great potential and space for development, adding that China encourages its enterprises to invest and do business in Algeria. China is willing to work with Algeria into tangible results, help Algeria accelerate its pace of industrialization, and enhance its capacity for independent development.
Tebboune said that both countries have entered a new stage of development, and they intend to deepen cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, investment, energy, mining, and infrastructure construction under the BRI framework, so to achieve common development which will also benefit other developing countries. Algeria is also prepared to work with China to promote trilateral cooperation with Africa.
Both parties agreed to speed up consultations on signing the five-year plan for China-Algeria comprehensive strategic cooperation and the implementation plan for jointly constructing the Belt and Road Initiative.
China is involved with the development of Algeria’s El Hamdania Central Port, which will be Algeria’s largest and first deep-water port and the second deep-water port in Africa..
Located 90 miles from Algiers, Algeria envisions the Port of El Hamdania as a regional hub for North Africa in the Mediterranean, competing with Morocco’s Tangier-Med Port. It will have a capacity of 25 million tons per year and 23 terminals capable of handling up to 6.5 million 20-foot containers.
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the project, an initiative of former-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was signed in January 2016. The MOU committed the China State Construction Engineering Company (CSCEC), China Harbor Engineering Company (CHECH), and the Algerian Port Authority to the project. In exchange for Chinese financing, the agreement handed the port’s operations to China for the first 25 years.
There have been political holdups with the development, however construction began in May this year. El Hamdania could represent new business opportunities in the port development and equipment sectors. With a project budget of US$3.3 billion, international port development and equipment companies should monitor procurement opportunities for computer systems and software; design and planning services; dredging; security systems, services, and technology; terminal technologies and systems; and vessel traffic information systems.
About 1,000 Chinese companies operate in Algeria. The government has identified key areas where Algeria can leverage its competitive advantage, including solar energy, phosphates, gold, uranium, zinc, and iron ore – resources vital for the development of both Algeria and China.
Algeria is a member of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which came into effect from January 1 this year and has largely abolished all intra-African trade tariffs. This means that ports such as El Hamdania will flourish as Free Trade Zones will also be part of these developments. That means that component parts can be imported duty free, matched with African sourced products, with finished products either re-exported or sold back onto the African continental market.
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