GE and Sonelgaz have signed an agreement to build a US$300mn manufacturing complex in Batna province
The complex will produce gas turbines, steam turbines, generators and control systems constituting blocks of power, which will generate 2,000MW of power from 2017, according to reports.
To build and operate this complex in Ain Yagout, a new joint venture (JV), General Electric Turbines Algeria, will be established, of which 51 per cent will be owned by Sonelgaz and 49 per cent by GE Industrial, a subsidiary of GE.
Amara Benyounes, minister for industrial development in Algeria, said, "It will be one of the biggest plants of GE in the world. This also shows that foreign investment is returning."
The country is seeking to increase production capacity to put an end to frequent power cuts, especially during the summer, industry sources said.
GE invested US$2mn last year in Algeria to build gas turbines with Sonelgaz. The current agreement between GE and Sonelgaz follows the international tender for the supply of equipment for power generation, in which bidders were required to commit to an industrial complex for the production of its equipment in Algeria.
