50-50 deal with American company will bolster national economy

Massey Ferguson tractors Algiers – Hocine Bousalah The first production line of Massey Ferguson tractors was launched at the Oued Hamimime Algerian Tractor Company factory in the eastern province of Constantine on Monday. The new company is based on an Algerian-American partnership with US tractor firm Massey Ferguson. The launch was attended by Algerian Minister of Industry Chérif Rehmani and a Massey Ferguson delegation headed by the Chief Executive of parent-company AGCO, Martin Richenhagen.
Minister of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprise and Investment Promotion Chérif Rehmani said in a press conference on Sunday that Algeria wanted to create an “industrial centre,” mechanising agriculture, providing logistical support and promoting a vibrant sub-contracting economy around the Constantine plant.
Rehmani said the partnership was in line with industrial reform backed by the government as well as being part of the restructuring process of the auto industry and agricultural equipment.
The partnership, which Rehmani said was in line with government-led industrial reform in the country, gives Algeria a 51 percent stake in the Massey Ferguson deal.
The company is set to produce three types of tractors with production increasing over the next five years, from 3,500 units a year in 2012 to 5,000 in 2017.
The venture is set to employ 700 workers with an annual capital of $35 million. Minister Rehmani also claimed the new company will boost the local economy by developing skills and reducing international imports over the next three years.