Tindouf free trade zone due before end of 2026, minister announces

A free trade zone (a special area for trade) in Tindouf wilaya will be handed over before the end of 2026, the minister said on Thursday.

Kamel Rezig, minister of external trade and export promotion, gave the information during a session of oral questions at the Council of the Nation, the upper house of parliament. He said the development works are now fully complete.

TSA reported that the zone aims to grow trade with West African countries, especially Algerian exports to them. Tindouf lies in the far south-west of Algeria, near the border with Mauritania.

The complex covers 200 hectares and includes six large warehouses, spaces for exhibitors and a goods control centre.

The complex will give businesses a complete working environment, the minister said.

Administrative buildings house customs, banks and insurance firms. Service and security infrastructure and a health centre are also included.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, laid the first stone in 2024.

The minister said the ministry is working with all the sectors concerned to complete the final handover and bring the complex into full service.

A draft decree creating a public body to manage free zones is with the General Secretariat of the Government, the minister added.