By Sifi Gharib
The Algerian government has announced a new regulatory phase for the investment system, reducing the processing time for investor files to 15 days as a general rule, and to 20 days for classified establishments. The Algerian Investment Development Agency (ADIA) is now obliged to respond to requests for economic real estate within 48 hours of its board’s decision. The move is intended to eliminate procedural delays, unify administrative channels, and accelerate the conversion of registered projects into tangible productive activity.
These directives were outlined in a speech by Prime Minister Sifi Gharib during the opening of a media day on the new legal provisions governing the Single Window for Investment. The government presented the reform as a shift away from a fragmented administrative approach towards an integrated, results-oriented system, and from a limited intermediary window to a single, effective point of contact with the authority to process, sign, and take decisions in favor of investors.
The figures presented by the Prime Minister underline the scale of the economic stakes linked to this reform. The Algerian Investment Promotion Agency has registered more than 20,000 investment projects since the previous legislation came into effect in 2022, with a total declared value of approximately $67.5 billion, and projections indicating the creation of more than 525,000 jobs. The issue, therefore, is no longer confined to incremental administrative improvement, but represents a broader recalibration of one of the key drivers of non-hydrocarbon economic growth, as Algeria seeks to expand its productive base, deepen industrialization, and increase the contribution of private investment to wealth creation.
The new reform is grounded in addressing the structural causes of delay by making the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency the sole and exclusive point of contact for investors. Representatives of various departments within the one-stop shops will no longer function merely as intermediaries transferring files to their respective administrations, but will instead be fully empowered decision-makers with authority to investigate, process, sign, and issue the necessary documents and licences in a single location. The reform also restructures the role of the one-stop shop, transforming it into a comprehensive platform covering all stages of a project’s lifecycle, from legal establishment through to operational launch.
In relation to the real estate sector, the Prime Minister explained that terms and conditions have also been updated to ensure closer monitoring of investors’ commitments and project completion phases. As a result, the allocation of affordable land is no longer a routine administrative procedure but has become a tool for directing investment towards the state’s strategic priorities. Furthermore, the agency’s obligation to respond to investors within 48 hours of the board’s decision removes the waiting periods and uncertainty that previously hindered project design, financing, and scheduling.
In the area of urban development, the new regulations expand the responsibilities of the Algerian Investment Development Agency’s one-stop shops to include the processing and issuance of urban planning permits, including building permits and certificates of conformity. This creates a unified process for investors from the initial permit application through to project completion, replacing multiple points of contact and fragmented institutional responsibilities.
The reform also introduces significant simplification of administrative procedures through the expanded use of digitalization as the preferred method of communication between investors and the administration. This is not merely a superficial modernization, but a mechanism aimed at improving tracking, enhancing transparency, reducing bureaucratic friction, and ensuring precise oversight of the progress of each file and the authority responsible for its handling.
This transformation comes within a highly competitive international economic environment, where investment attractiveness is measured not only by natural resources or low costs, but also by the quality of the regulatory framework, the stability of rules, the speed of decision-making, and the clarity of responsibilities. Through these measures, Algeria aims to strengthen its position in attracting productive investment and to improve the integration of its institutions into regional and international value chains, while ensuring a larger share of added value is retained within the national economy.
Prime Minister Sifi Gharib emphasized that the Investment Law has already strengthened legal protections for investors, while the new phase adds a second pillar: procedural simplification. In this way, the government seeks to construct an investment environment anchored in both legal security and administrative efficiency, which it considers essential to positioning Algeria as a destination for investment, initiative, and entrepreneurial expansion.
(The writer is an incumbent prime minister of Algeria and a seasoned politician with strong political and geopolitical expertise. PM Ghrieb leads a newly formed government aimed at addressing economic challenges, improving public services, and advancing national reforms.)
