Electricity and gas for remote areas: More than DA 22 billion invested by Sonelgaz

This amount includes several programs, such as the five-year program, the complementary program, the Local Communities Common Fund (FCCL) program, as well as the Grey Areas program, he added.

To this end, he pointed out that the number of projects carried out, as of June 30, 2022, "totals 2,570 electricity projects and 2,383 gas projects, the equivalent of the connection of 60,369 electrical structures and 239,169 gas structures."

In addition, Sonelgaz has adopted a special program for the connection of farms, with a budget of more than DA 25 billion to 'accelerate agricultural development and strengthen national agricultural production,' said Mr. Adjal. Given the size of this operation, «the number of farms connected reached 20,233 out of a total of 45,878 farms, a 44% completion rate», he said.

Sonelgaz has also invested in the connection of industrial zones, by studying 41 files out of 48 applications for connection of industrial zones, thus allowing 3,470 customers to access both energies, being 85% of the total files submitted, according to the official. The Group thus plans to build more than 2,601 km of transmission network, with 67 distribution stations and 1,494 km of distribution network, for electricity, for an envelope of 19,202 billion cents, he added.

Of the industrial areas studied, 9 were connected to electricity: Sidi Khattab (Relizane), Tama Zoura (Aïn Témouchent), Aïn Ouessara (Djelfa), Wadi El-Berdi (Bouira), Mashta Fatima and Ras El-Oued (Bordj Bou-Arréridj), Dhraa Hajja (M'sila), Oulad Saber (Setif) and Ain Yagout (Batna).

As for gas, the manager plans to build more than 414 km of transmission network, with 49 pumping stations and 678 km of distribution network, for a budget of 2.608 billion centimes, Stressing that three of the industrial areas studied were connected to natural gas, in Sidi Khattab, Wadi El-Bardi and Tama Zoura.

As part of the group’s digitization, the CEO announced that Sonelgaz is working on a project that will lead to the opening of a virtual agency before the end of the current year in the province of Algiers. This agency will offer all the services of a traditional agency (connection request, bill payment) without the physical presence of commercial agents, stresses Mr. Adjal.