Algeria has invited Indian companies for undertaking a feasibility study for cooperation in the fertilizer sector of the north African nation.
The proposal was made by a high-level Algerian delegation currently visiting New Delhi, at a meeting here with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the industry body said Thursday.
Leader of the Algerian delegation Bouarroudj Mohamed Tahar, the country's director general of mines, while inviting Indian business to explore investment opportunities in the infrastructure, energy, mines and health sectors of Algeria, said around 800 billion tonnes of phosphate reserves remain to be exploited in the country.
Algeria also plans to increase its phosphate processing capacity by 5 million tonnes, which can be used as fertiliser or also for production of phosphate gas.
Algeria exports more than $3 million worth of phosphates per year to India, the other major export items being crude oil worth around $663 million and natural gas (LNG) valued at over $120 million.
Bilateral trade between India and Algeria grew from $55 million in 2001 to $3.4 billion in 2011 before coming down to $2.17 billion during 2012. India's exports maintained an upward trend in this period, increasing from $1.084 billion to $1.102 billion.
More From This Section
Indian companies at the meeting, representing a wide swathe of sectors ranging from infrastructure, pharma to telecom, shared their proposed plans for setting up a steel plant, power unit, and the maintenance and modernization of power units and hydro projects in Algeria, the CII statement said.
CII also said Mohammed Hacene Echarif, Algeria's ambassador to India offered the embassy's full support to provide whatever information required by Indian companies interested in doing business in Algeria.