• Algeria launches $207 million tire factory project in Touggourt
• Plant targets 5 million annual units, boosting industrial self-sufficiency
• Move follows 2025 shortages and aims to cut import dependence

Algeria has begun building a plant to manufacture rubber tires for passenger and heavy vehicles, its investment promotion agency said. The 27-billion-dinar ($207 million) project is located in Touggourt, in the country’s northeast.

The Algerian Agency for Investment Promotion (AAPI) said construction officially began on Monday, Dec. 29. The factory will have an annual production capacity of 5 million tires.

An initial phase will produce 2 million units for heavy vehicles, followed by a second phase adding 3 million tires for passenger cars. Authorities said the project is central to Algeria’s push for industrial sovereignty.

The investment follows a tire shortage in the second half of 2025. To ease supply pressures in the short term, authorities introduced transitional measures.

State fuel distributor Naftal signed an agreement with Germany’s Continental in November to import one million passenger-car tires. A second deal was announced with Italy’s Prometeon to supply the heavy-vehicle market.

The new plant forms part of a broader policy aimed at reducing import dependence. In July, Algerian firm El Hadj Arabi Industries concluded a major partnership with China’s Doublestar Group to build another tire factory, with an initial annual capacity of 7 million units, expandable to 22 million.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the African tire market is expected to reach about $7.10 billion in 2025 and grow to $8.94 billion by 2030, an average annual growth rate of 4.72%. Algeria accounted for 26.75% of the market in 2024.

Demand is being driven by a growing vehicle fleet, underpinned by population growth and an expanding middle class in Africa’s more stable economies. The market remains largely dependent on imports, mainly from China, Europe, the United States and India.

Henoc Dossa