Algeria and Qatar push Baladna infant formula plant toward construction

Algeria's industry ministry has reaffirmed state backing for the Baladna Algérie infant milk formula project, a venture with Qatari investors intended to replace part of the country's imported baby formula with domestic output. Industry Minister Farid Kourtel received a delegation from Qatar's Power International Holding at the ministry's headquarters, where both sides reviewed the state of the administrative procedures still standing between the project and its execution, Jeune Indépendant reported.

Qatari delegation reviews outstanding procedures

The delegation was led by Ramez Al-Khayyat, chief executive of Power International Holding, and included executives of its subsidiary UCC Holding, the chairman of the board of Baladna Algérie, and Qatar's ambassador to Algeria, Abdelaziz Ali Al-Naama. Also present were the chief executive of Algeria's state-owned Madar group, ministry officials, and Vocational Training and Education Minister Nacima Arhab. Jeune Indépendant reported that the meeting took place late on Tuesday, while L'Algérie Aujourd'hui dated it to the previous day.

According to a ministry statement cited by both outlets, Kourtel restated his department's commitment to support the project and to coordinate between the parties involved so that it can be completed under the best conditions, on the basis of a balanced and mutually beneficial partnership. The two sides agreed to continue consultations and to finalise the procedures needed to bring the plant on stream as quickly as possible. El Moudjahid reported that the minister told the Qatari investors his department was determined to remove every obstacle to the project.

How the venture is structured

L'Algérie Aujourd'hui set out the project architecture: the infant formula plant is a partnership between Qatar's UCC Holding, a subsidiary of Power International Holding, and the Algerian state group Madar, while Baladna Algérie, another subsidiary of the same Qatari group, is responsible for supplying the plant with the milk that will serve as raw material.

• UCC Holding, part of Power International Holding — Qatari industrial partner
• Madar — Algerian state-owned partner
• Baladna Algérie — raw milk supply to the plant

Workforce preparation was a substantial part of the discussion. The ministry statement said the presence of the vocational training minister reflected a plan to set up specialised training programmes tailored to the project's requirements, in order to supply a qualified Algerian workforce, meet the project's skills and human resources needs, and strengthen local integration.

Giplait and Bellakt open a second track

Baladna is not the only route Algeria is pursuing. L'Algérie Aujourd'hui reported that the state dairy group Giplait signed a memorandum of understanding with the Belarusian company Bellakt providing for an exchange of information between the two sides, as a prelude to creating a joint venture for infant formula production in Algeria. The document was signed by Giplait chief executive Samah Lahlouh and Bellakt director general Lupik Vitaly, with executives of both companies and a representative of the Belarusian agriculture ministry present.

The memorandum continues a discussion that began earlier. In February, an Algerian delegation led by Lahlouh travelled to Belarus and signed a cooperation and partnership agreement with Bellakt covering infant formula production in Algeria, in the presence of Ekaterina Valerievna Fomenok of the Belarusian ministry of agriculture and food and Tatiana Olegovna Gorkavik, first deputy director general of Bellakt. That agreement itself followed recommendations from the Algerian-Belarusian business forum held in December, during which the Belarusian agriculture and food minister led a delegation including Bellakt's executive director on a visit to the Rouiba dairy.

Both tracks answer the same policy objective. L'Algérie Aujourd'hui wrote that Algeria is actively developing local infant formula projects to reduce its heavy dependence on imports and the bill attached to them, and that the government has chosen to favour projects built around that goal. Neither the Baladna plant nor the Giplait-Bellakt venture has disclosed production capacity, investment value or a start-up date.