State Minister for Hydrocarbons Mohamed Arkab and Minister of Mines and Quarrying Mourad Hanifi convened a coordination session at the Hydrocarbons Ministry to track advances in the integrated phosphate project at Bled El Hadba and Oued El Kebrit.
The meeting featured updates on the project’s key elements, the ministry announced. This initiative aligns with Algeria’s strategy to build a comprehensive phosphate mining and processing operation through a Sonatrach-Sonarem partnership, unlocking national reserves to bolster economic growth.
Talks covered technical and logistical facets, including operations at the Bled El Hadba mine in Tebessa province and phosphate enrichment stages. The agenda also included the Oued El Kebrit chemical complex in Souk Ahras, set to produce phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers—such as phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, and ammonia—to meet domestic demand and spur exports.
The ministers highlighted the venture’s pivotal role, noting it “plays a vital part in securing national food supplies, achieving fertilizer self-sufficiency, sparking economic momentum in eastern regions, and generating thousands of jobs.”
Arkab and Hanifi stressed tighter collaboration among stakeholders to meet deadlines, per President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s directives on leveraging natural assets for high-value, sustainable industry. With products earmarked for African and regional markets, the project holds major export potential.
Attendees included State Secretary at the Mines Ministry Karima Bekir Tafer, Sonatrach CEO Noureddine Daoudi, Sonarem Director General Reda Belhadj, and senior officials from both sectors.