Algeria Explores Ambitious Energy Collaboration with Niger: Plans for a Power Plant Underway

BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Algiers, Algeria | January 24th, 2025 — In a significant step towards bolstering Algeria’s regional leadership in energy development, the state-owned utility Sonelgaz is set to expand its footprint in Africa with plans to establish a power plant in Niger. The announcement follows a series of high-level meetings held on January 23, 2025, involving Mourad Adjal, CEO of Sonelgaz, and delegations from Burkina Faso’s Sonabel and Niger’s NIGELEC. These discussions underscore Algeria’s commitment to advancing sustainable energy cooperation across the continent.

During a meeting at Sonelgaz’s headquarters in Algiers with the Burkinabè delegation, Adjal reiterated the group’s readiness to support energy development in Burkina Faso by sharing its extensive expertise. “Sonelgaz, as a historic and pioneering operator in the energy sector, is dedicated to fostering regional collaboration through knowledge transfer,” Adjal affirmed. He highlighted the company’s comprehensive capabilities, ranging from electricity production and transmission to distribution, engineering, maintenance, and training. Representatives from Sonabel lauded Sonelgaz’s hospitality and expressed keen interest in tapping into its expertise, particularly in energy transmission and electrical grid management.

Parallelly, Sonelgaz announced its intention to dispatch a specialized team to Niger to lay the groundwork for a memorandum of understanding with NIGELEC. This initiative aligns with recommendations from Algeria’s leadership and builds on the outcomes of recent diplomatic engagements, including visits by Niger’s Prime Minister and Algeria’s Energy Minister, Mohamed Arkab, in August 2024. A virtual meeting between Adjal and NIGELEC’s Director General, Fati Abarchi, set the stage for this collaborative effort.

In the meeting, Sonelgaz presented its extensive expertise in energy production, transportation, and distribution, as well as engineering and maintenance. Adjal expressed strong interest in investing in Niger’s energy sector, proposing an initial feasibility study for the construction of a power plant. “Sonelgaz is prepared to deploy a team of specialists to conduct an on-ground assessment of this project,” Adjal stated, emphasizing the company’s openness to partnerships in renewable energy and capacity-building initiatives.

Abarchi, on her part, underscored NIGELEC’s enthusiasm for collaborating with Sonelgaz, citing Algeria’s strategic regional position and Sonelgaz’s remarkable track record in energy innovation. She voiced her determination to actualize this partnership in a manner that serves the mutual interests of both nations.

As a concrete step, both parties agreed to dispatch a team of experts to Niger to prepare for a high-level visit led by Sonelgaz’s CEO. This mission will aim to explore avenues for deepening bilateral cooperation, reflecting the shared aspirations of Algeria and Niger to advance sustainable energy solutions and foster regional economic development.

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