Housing: Visiting US corporate leaders consider creating partnerships in Algeria

Algérie Presse Service (APS) - December 2, 2012
About a dozen US firms active in the housing sector and proceeding as three consortiums indicated their willingness to create joint ventures for implementation of public housing projects in Algeria.

"The U.S. delegation, which involves three consortiums, has come to Algeria to establish partnerships with Algerian operators with the objective of building part of the public housing program based on Algerian standards and specificities," Mr. Smaïl Chikhoune, president of the US-Algeria Business Council, told the media on the sidelines of a meeting convened with Housing ministry officials.

According to Mr. Chikhoune, this partnership, which the American firms view as an "asset", will help "increasingly speed up the process and expedite operations because it will help them better know Algerian modalities and specifications."

"The presence of this delegation in Algeria demonstrates the great interest by U.S. firms for the very ambitious public (housing) program, which targets several segments of Algerian society," added Mr. Chikhoune, noting that the U.S. firms are ready to adapt to the requirements of the Algerian system in terms of construction and to respect local urban planning.

In their presentations, the leaders of participating firms have all emphasized the partnership's added value which, as they said, resides in their mastery of project management, namely in terms of project implementation within timeframe and budget and using required construction materials.

"We are very much looking forward to working in Algeria and help implement these ambitious projects," Ticon consortium representative Kurt Anderson told the Algerian officials.

To convince the Algerian side, Ticon representatives presented a model of construction project involving a neighborhood including 2,800 housing units fully-furnished with the required equipments and amenities. The consortium contracted out with a U.S. firm specializing in seismic studies to include earthquake control standards adapted to specific Algerian characteristics.

Moreover, leaders of Prima Civitas consortium, which was developed at the University of Michigan, have pledged to provide training in the United States for Algerian personnel in trade areas relating to the housing sector.
The visiting U.S. delegation includes firms specializing in use of innovative technologies in housing construction, including energy-efficient materials, environmentally-friendly systems, and housing unit durability.