In Algeria, French companies sign €5 billion in deals
Herald tribune, Bloomberg News, Reuters, Published: December 4, 2007
ALGIERS: Alstom, Gaz de France, Total and Bull on Tuesday signed contracts worth more than €5 billion as part of the three-day visit to Algeria by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The contracts, worth $7.38 billion, are to build power and petrochemical plants, buy natural gas and renovate the data systems in post offices of the former French colony. They reflect Sarkozy’s efforts to strengthen ties with Algeria as part of his broader plan to forge greater pan-Mediterranean economic cooperation.
« These big contracts make our ‘exceptional partnership’ a reality, » Sarkozy told French and Algerian business people in a speech.
Sarkozy has refused to apologize for 132 years of French colonial rule in Algeria, but in a speech at the start of the visit on Monday he said that the colonial system was « deeply unfair » and that « terrible crimes » were committed during the Algerian war for independence.
Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said Sarkozy’s words signified « progress » but fell short of the mark. « We still say it’s not enough but it’s going in the right direction, » Zerhouni said.
French business operators say their country’s sometimes stormy political ties with Algeria have little impact on extensive commercial ties that have made France the biggest investor outside the oil and gas sector.
Proving that was still the case, Total, the oil company, agreed to build and operate a $3 billion petrochemical complex in the western city of Arzew. Algeria’s state-owned hydrocarbon company Sonatrach will own 49 percent of the plant.
Alstom, a large maker of power plants, will supply three GT26 gas turbines as part of a €1.35 billion contract won jointly with Orascom Construction Industries of Egypt, to build a 1,200 megawatt power plant in Terga, 600 kilometers, or 372 miles, west of Algiers. Alstom said its share of the order was €800 million, the company.
Bull, the largest French computer maker, will renovate the Algerian postal network’s information systems for « several million euros, » said the company spokeswoman, Anne-Marie Jourdain.
Gaz de France extended through 2019 its contract to purchase Algerian natural gas for €2.5 billion a year.
Sarkozy said he also hoped for sales of Airbus planes and high-speed trains.
He added that the West should trust Arab states to develop such technology for peaceful purposes or risk a war of civilizations.
