Summary:

On 29 December 2025, Algeria’s national oil and gas giant, SONATRACH, finalized plans for the construction of three seawater desalination plants in Ain Adjroud (Marsa Benmhidi, Tlemcen), Dahra (El Marsa, Chlef), and Sidi Ladjel (El Khadra, Mostaganem).  

Plans for the projects were formalized in the presence of multiple responsible officials, including Minister of Hydrocarbons Mohamed Arkab, Minister of Water Resources Taha Derbal, Sonatrach CEO Nour Eddine Daoudi, and senior executives from the Algerian Desalination Company and Algerian Water Company (AEC). 

According to SONATRACH’s announcement, each plant will have a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters of potable water per day, forming the first phase of Algeria’s expanded national desalination program, initiated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which ultimately aims to construct six large-scale facilities and raise national desalinated water production to 5.6 million cubic meters per day by 2030.  

The Algerian Desalination Company will supervise the works, with Algerian firm Cosider Canalisation constructing the Tlemcen plant, the National Company for Major Petroleum Works (ENGTP) handling Chlef, and the Algerian Industrial Projects Company (SARPI) responsible for Mostaganem. 

Outlook: 

These ambitious desalination projects reinforce Algeria’s commitment to sustainable water security and highlight the country’s strategic approach to addressing growing demand for potable water, which continues to a pose long-term social, economic, and security challenges to the broader North Africa region. 

These projects will expand Algeria’s desalination capacity, expanding access to potable water for coastal regions, and reinforce the country’s strategic water management infrastructure.  

The contracts also showcase Sonatrach’s role as a responsible corporate actor and the effective collaboration between state-owned industrial entities, positioning Algeria as a regional leader in large-scale water infrastructure development. 

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