Industries Qatar said on Wednesday that the governments of Qatar and Algeria have entered into a joint venture to build a steel production plant in the north African country.
The industrial giant with interests in petrochemicals, fertilisers and steel products, said the planned steel complex will have a total production capacity of 4 million metric tonnes per annum (MT/PA).
It added in a statement that phase one of the project will have a capacity of 1.5 million MT/PA of re-bar and 500,000 MT/PA of wire rod to meet the requirements of the Algerian market.
According to a feasibility study conducted by an international consultant selected by both parties, the steel complex will cost $2bn in its first phase.
The project is expected to create more than 1,000 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs.
Under the agreement, Algeria, represented by Sider and Fonds National D’investissement, will hold 51 percent of the new company, while Qatar Steel International, represented by Qatar Steel (24.5 percent), a wholly owned subsidiary of Industries Qatar, and Qatar Mining (24.5 percent), will hold the remaining 49 percent.
The joint venture is scheduled to be established within a month, and the facility is expected to take 42 months to construct.
The plant’s commercial production, expected to start in 2017, is planned to meet Algeria’s requirements of over 5 million MT/PA of steel.
Algeria now imports about 3 million MT/PA of re-bar and wire rod.
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