AQS General Manager to QNA: Company's Transactions Reached Around $1.2 Billion in 2023
Algiers, February 28 (QNA) - General Manager and CEO of Algerian Qatari Steel (AQS) Yousef Ahmed Al Muhannadi revealed that the company's transactions volume reached around USD 1.2 billion in 2023, after the pace of production reached about 1.7 million tons of final products, with more than 700,000 tons exported to 30 countries around the world with a financial value exceeding USD 423 million.
In his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the AQS General Manager revealed the imminent launch of the second phase of the company's expansion project, after feasibility studies are completed. This expansion will enable the Bellara steel complex to double its production capacity to increase from two million tons of final iron products to a capacity of 4 million tons annually. He said that the second phase of the project would push toward the production of new steel products to cover the most important needs of the local market, as well as provide products needed by international markets, thereby diversifying and expanding the circle of exports outside of hydrocarbons.
Al Muhannadi said that the significant numbers that the AQS company recorded and its distinguished international presence are the result of an action plan developed by the governing body and based on comprehensive systems in management, production, and marketing. This is what enabled the company to reach the most difficult and demanding global markets.
He pointed out that the strategy adopted by the company's management according to a solid long-term plan is based on strengthening its international position and expanding its competitive circle regionally and globally, thus contributing more to raising Algeria's export capabilities, while providing steel products for which demand has increased in the internal market.
AQS was established in 2013, within the framework of a cooperation agreement between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Algeria. Qatar Steel International owns 49 percent of the project value and 51 percent for the Algerian side.
The company's factory is located in the "Bellara" industrial zone, Milia town in Jijel province, and extends over an area of 216 hectares. In 2015, the executive work of the project was launched, after which the first production unit entered service in 2017, followed by all units by the end of 2021.
AQS is seen as one of the most prominent companies in the heavy industries sector, as it has an advanced industrial complex that includes the latest technologies used in the field of iron and steel at the international level, led by the environmentally friendly direct reduction unit, which is the largest in the world.
General Manager and CEO of AQS Yousef Ahmed Al Muhannadi indicated that the company includes 10 industrial units, including three rolling mill units, two smelting units, lime production unit, an industrial gases production unit, a raw material reception and transportation unit, a water treatment unit, and an electrical power conversion station. The factory also includes 60 individual buildings, 10 km of internal railway lines, and 23 km of roads linking the facilities, in addition to a railway line linking the factory to the port of Djen Djen, at an estimated distance of 50 km, used to transport raw materials.
Al Muhannadi considered that the action plan that was set made the most prestigious international specialized bodies approve the company's products in various global markets. In 2023, the AQS managed to obtain several quality and safety certificates, including Product certification in the Baltic countries from KIWA, a certificate of conformity of quality for reinforcing steel from Poland (Zetom), a certificate for exporting products to Scandinavian markets (GLOBECERT AB), UK CARES Rebar and Wire Rod Products conformity certificate Worldwide. Those certificates were preceded by several certificates, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001, making AQS a distinctive international brand in a record time.
The General Director of AQS added that the company is a living embodiment and practical application of Algeria's development vision in the industrial field and achieving the goals and objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030, especially regarding the foreign investment process and diversifying sources of income, in addition to its role in promoting and consolidating strategic relations between the two fraternal countries.
He added that the Qatari-Algerian relations are historical and rooted at all levels and there is great interest from the wise leadership in both countries to develop them towards broader horizons. The first bedrock for boosting the relations was embodied in the Algerian-Qatari Steel Project, the investment path that turned a huge project into a mega-industrial reality, representing all the meanings of compatibility, integration, and partnership, and is expressed by the fraternal relations that unite Qatar and Algeria.
Concluding his remarks to QNA, Al Muhannadi said that the company is working to build a strong industrial base by increasing production capabilities while enhancing service innovation and improving work standards and methods. It is also working to develop and expand the assortment of iron products to meet the changing needs of the market with a focus on quality. He added that this policy results from the forward-looking vision of the governing body that wants the company to become one of the strongest steel makers in the world if we consider the production, technical, and human capabilities that the Algerian-Qatari Steel Company abounds with. (QNA)