Algeria accelerates $1bn desalination drive to support agriculture

Algeria is fast-tracking a $1bn project to build desalination plants in drought-prone areas of the country’s north-west in a bid to secure water supplies for agriculture, Bloomberg reported on February 18.

The project will cover Tlemcen, Mostaganem and Chlef and is expected to provide 900,000 cubic metres of fresh water per day. It forms part of Algeria’s broader push to expand desalination capacity, with the country already the largest producer of desalinated water in Africa.

Algeria has faced sharply declining rainfall over the past two decades, reducing water reserves available for farming. The government aims to source 60% of its drinking water from seawater desalination by the end of the decade, up from 42% currently.

The initiative falls within a previously announced $5.4bn national plan to boost both drinking water and irrigation supplies.

Lahcen Bada, chief executive of the Algerian Desalination Company, said increased freshwater output would support strategic sectors such as agriculture and strengthen national food security. He described the $1bn allocation as a significant financial commitment, but one made necessary by water security becoming a strategic priority.

Since 2005, Algeria has commissioned 19 desalination plants with a total capacity of 3.5mnn cubic metres per day and is targeting around 4bn cubic metres annually for agricultural use by 2030.

Agriculture accounts for roughly 15% of Algeria’s $285bn economy, which remains heavily reliant on oil and gas exports.