saysAlgeria will invest US$ 10 billion (EUR 8.3 billion) in its water sector in the coming five years but needs foreign expertise to implement the programme, Water Resources Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said. A growing population has put increasing strain on the country's utilities, and people in the capital Algiers and other cities suffer periodically from shortages of drinking water, especially in summer.

Tenders for two mega water projects – a US$ 1 billion (EUR 830 million) water transfer project and a dam project for drinking water and irrigation – are to be launched in June and April 2006 respectively.

“Improving agricultural productivity is what is at stake. Reducing our dependence on rainfall is key, and this is why we are investing a lot in the water sector,” Sellal said.

Web site: Algerian EMWIS National Focal Point Web Site

Source: Lamine Chikhi, Planet Ark, 7 Mar 2006

Tags: water resources management