09-07-2025
Algeria eyes deeper intra-African trade via gas pipeline, infrastructure links
Algeria is working to expand its share of intra-African trade by leveraging opportunities created under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Foreign Trade and Export Promotion Minister Kamal Rezig said during the Algeria Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2025 Business Roadshow.
In his speech, Rezig pointed to several cross-border infrastructure projects that aim to enhance connectivity across the continent, according to a press statement issued by Afreximbank on Tuesday. These include the Trans-Sahara Highway, the Zouerate Road project linking Algeria's Tindouf region to Mauritania, and the Nigeria-Algeria gas pipeline, along with a parallel fibre optic corridor.
Algeria is hosting the fourth edition of IATF, the Afreximbank-led biennial trade and investment event, in its capital Algiers from 4 - 10 September 2025.
Separately, Ayman El-Zoghby, Director of Trade, Investment, and Financial Cooperation at Afreximbank, confirmed to local media the bank's interest in financing the Algeria–Nigeria pipeline, also called Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, a report by Algerian news portal Echoroukonline said.
El-Zoghby said the bank had conveyed its commitment directly to Algerian authorities in recent meetings for financing the project, which will link gas sites in Nigeria, Niger and Algeria to supply Europe.
The report further noted that in February 2025, Algeria had signed three agreements with Nigeria and Niger aimed at accelerating the 4,000-kilometre gas pipeline's implementation. These cover feasibility studies, financial frameworks, and confidentiality protocols related to sensitive technical data.
Separately, Morocco has completed preliminary feasibility and engineering studies for a planned gas pipeline to ship Nigerian gas to Europe through the North African nation, Zawya Projects had reported in May 2025.
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
