Algeria accelerates Annaba port expansion to support phosphate exports

Algeria plans to double the workforce and deploy additional machinery at the Annaba phosphate port expansion as the government seeks to complete the project in the first quarter of 2027. The country’s works and infrastructure ministry said the additional workers and equipment would be mobilized during July and August.

The Mediterranean port will serve as the principal export outlet for Algeria’s expanding phosphate industry. The IPP Souk Ahras phosphoric acid plant is designed to produce 900,000 metric tons per year of P₂O₅ and could require about 3 million metric tons of phosphate rock annually, according to Argus Media analysts. The Bled El Hadba mine, which will supply the complex, has begun operations and is accumulating inventories.

Separately, phosphate producer Somiphos plans to complete a 1 million metric ton annual expansion at the Djebel Onk mine by mid-2027, increasing capacity from about 1.5 million metric tons. The additional production could support exports to Indonesia under an agreement with Pupuk Indonesia for up to 1 million metric tons per year. The new Algerian supply could provide European and Asian buyers with an alternative to Middle Eastern material, although it will not ease current market tightness, driven partly by disrupted Gulf trade routes and elevated sulfur costs.

Source: Argus Media