28-02-2025
Algeria Grants a 40-year Concession Contract to Italian Investors
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Fisheries awarded the Italian company Bonifiche Ferraresi—BF a concession contract on Thursday in Algiers to implement an integrated project to produce cereals, legumes, and pasta in Timimoun (southern Algeria).
Mustapha Houari, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BF Algeria, received the contract from Youcef Cherfa, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Fisheries, during a ceremony held at the Ministry's building.
Following the ceremony, Cherfa told the press that granting the concession contract to BF, which extends for 40 years and is renewable, reflects Algeria's commitment to supporting agricultural investment, noting that the implementation of the project is proceeding in 'very good' conditions.
He explained that the project entered the actual implementation phase, as the 'BF' company started to install the workshop, drill water wells, install reclamation and pivot irrigation equipment and launch the planting operations during the ploughing and sowing seasons.
Cherfa added that the project witnessed a strong start, and is expected to receive an additional boost starting next April, with the beginning of planting the dry legumes.
For his part, Mustapha Houari described the granting of the concession contract to the 'BF' company as a 'historic and strategic moment', reflecting the strength of Algerian-Italian relations. He stressed that the company's board of directors will meet on March 11 to discuss ways to accelerate the pace of the project's completion.
The project extends over an area of 36.000 hectares in the 'Great Ocean 01' in the Wilaya of Timimoun (southern Algeria), where it will be dedicated to the production of wheat, lentils, dried beans, chickpeas, in addition to the cultivation of oil plants such as soybeans.
It also includes the establishment of transformation units for the production of pasta, storage silos, and other infrastructure.
The total cost of the project is $420 million, as it aims to enhance national production of grains and dry legumes and contribute to increasing exports outside the hydrocarbon sector by exporting food pasta, in addition to creating more than 6,700 jobs.
This project is the result of a partnership between the Italian group 'BF' and the Algerian state, represented by the National Investment Fund, within the framework of an agreement initialled in July 2024.
The project is part of the national efforts to enhance food security, through the implementation of the national plan for the development of strategic sectors, which includes grains, legumes, sugar and oil plants, seeds, and milk.
