ALGIERS – Algerian and Chinese companies, yesterday, signed an agreement to establish a joint venture for an integrated phosphates project, with an investment budget of seven billion U.S. dollars, Algeria’s energy giant, Sonatrach said, in a statement.

Under the new deal, the Algerian group, Asmidal, a subsidiary of Sonatrach, and mining firm, Manal, agreed with Chinese companies, Wuhuan Engineering and Tian’An Chemical, to launch a joint venture Algerian Chinese Fertiliser Company, with 56 percent of the shares owned by the Algerian party and the remaining 44 percent by the two Chinese firms.

This is the first integrated mining and fertiliser production project in Algeria, with a target of an annual production capacity of 5.4 million tonnes of fertilisers.

The project will exploit the phosphate deposit in the Bled El Hadba and Djebel Onk mines, in the easternmost province of Tebessa, transform the product into fertiliser, and establish facilities in the port of the eastern province of Annaba to facilitate export.

The project is expected to generate some 12,000 jobs during the construction phase, and 6,000 direct jobs and 24,000 indirect jobs, once the project starts production.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK