Adds the current maximum cargo size in paragraph 3, adds Bled El Hadba rock export availability in paragraph 7, updates Djebel Onk details in paragraph 8
Additional workers and equipment will be deployed this month and next to Algeria's Annaba phosphate port expansion project, aiming for completion by the first quarter of 2027, Algeria's works and infrastructure ministry said.
The project's workforce will double and Annaba "will be reinforced with additional machinery and equipment... to accelerate the pace of work and guarantee the project's delivery within the scheduled deadlines", the ministry said, according to Algerian state-controlled media.
The project centres on building a deepwater quay that can handle 80,000t ships to strengthen "the logistical competitiveness" of Algerian phosphate rock and fertilizer exports. Algeria's phosphate rock producer and Sonarem subsidiary Somiphos currently loads shipments of up to 55,000t.
The port expansion is part of Algeria's Integrated Phosphate Project (IPP), a partnership between state-owned energy company Sonatrach and state-owned mining firm Sonarem. The IPP includes the development of phosphate deposits in Bled El Hadba and a phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid and ammonia facility in Oued Keberit, Souk Ahras province.
The IPP "is scheduled to enter production during the first quarter of 2027, coinciding with the completion of the Annaba port expansion project and its readiness to export its initial phosphate shipments", the government said last month.
The IPP Souk Ahras phosphoric acid production facility will have a capacity of 900,000 t/yr of P2O5, with potential phosphate rock demand of around 3mn t/yr, according to Argus analysts. The Bled El Hadba mine will supply the Oued Keberit facilities and is already in operation and building up stocks, Argus understands.
Somiphos said it will market some of the phosphate rock from Bled El Hadba for export before the phosphoric acid production in Oued Keberit comes on line.
Somiphos also expects to complete a 1mn t/yr expansion at its Djebel Onk mine by July 2027. It is aiming for its production to reach 1.8mn t over 2026. After this expansion is complete, Somiphos will likely supply phosphate rock to Indonesia, under an agreement for up to 1mn t/yr signed with state-owned fertilizer group Pupuk Indonesia in January.
