Algeria's Electricity demand is growing at the rate of 2-4 percent per annum, and experts predict that by 2010, the country’s power requirement will be 14,000 MW. Sonelgaz is the country’s sole power utility company, generating and distributing 6,345 MW of power.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mining, Algeria has to build new transmission lines comprising very high tension (VHT) and high-tension wires and about 140 substations to transmit the 8,000 MW of power that it plans to add to the country’s existing capacities by 2010. The country’s electricity augmentation program will estimately cost $10 billion.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy and Mining, to support its rural electrification program, is taking a series of initiatives to attract foreign and private investments into non-conventional power projects, including, hydro, biomass and solar energy.

An inadequate supply of potable water in Algeria is another environmental issue that the country is facing. The persistent water shortage in Algeria is hurting the national economy especially when it harms agriculture. Algeria is 95 percent arid land and some 80 percent of Algeria’s land surface is in desert zones where rainfall is practically zero. John Hopkins University predicts that Algeria will have a ratio of water annually of less than 1, 000 cubic meters available water per person in 2025 which makes water one of the main concerns for Algeria’s future. While the water sector in Algeria is languid, there is more demand to import.

New-Fields Exhibitions, your window to the world of emerging markets, was quick to recognize the enormous business opportunities available in the booming Algerian water and electricity sector and made plans to hold the 6th Algeria Electricity & Water Expo in the Algerian capital, Algiers. Join us in what will be one of the year’s most important events for the Algerian power industry!