Turkish Hayat DHC Invests $100 Million in Algerian Paper Production Facility
Image: TSA
Takeaway
Hayat DHC's $100 million investment signals growing confidence in Algeria's manufacturing sector and import substitution strategy. International paper and packaging firms should monitor Algeria's evolving paper production landscape, as increased domestic capacity could shift trade flows and pricing dynamics in the region.
Turkish conglomerate Hayat DHC received approval from Algerian authorities to launch a DZD 13.4 billion (~$100 million) investment for a new paper production facility. The investment was greenlit by the Director-General of the Algerian Agency for Investment Promotion (AAPI), Omar Rekache, on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at the AAPI headquarters. The project involves establishing an industrial unit to produce large-sized paper rolls with a capacity of 70,000 tonnes annually. The facility will also produce 24,275 tons of paper towels and 20,000 tons of sanitary paper products per year.
Algeria has been working to reduce its reliance on imports in the paper sector. In October 2023, the state-owned GIPEC Group announced a call for national and international interest to create a new corrugated paper production (OPP) plant with a nominal production capacity of 330,000 tons per year. The GIPEC project, estimated at around $110 million, aimed to reduce the OPP import bill by 85%. At that time, Algeria imported its entire OPP requirement of 350,000 tons per year, valued at approximately $220 million. GIPEC also planned to relaunch five old paper and cardboard recovery centers and create four new centers during 2024 to supply raw materials for the new project.
Hayat DHC's new Algerian facility will significantly increase the country's paper production capacity. In 2019, Algerian Africaine Paper Mills (APM) started up an Andritz PrimeLineCOMPACT tissue production line with a design speed of 2,100 m/min and a working width of 2.85 meters, producing 35,000 tons of tissue paper annually. APM also exports 40% of its production to the Middle East, Africa, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. In November 2024, Algeria's WAFA Group announced it would install a new Toscotec tissue machine at its Ain Oussera facility with a production capacity of 40,000 tpy.
The Hayat DHC project is expected to create 960 direct jobs. The facility will contribute to strengthening national production of raw materials for the paper industry and reducing imports. Omar Rekache emphasized the importance of gradually working to produce inputs locally to increase the integration rate in the final products. He also affirmed the agency's readiness to support the group in establishing additional industrial units or supporting the localization of subcontracting projects to create a national subcontracting network.
With the investment certificate granted, the remaining administrative documents are expected to be finalized at the decentralized one-stop shop in Relizane, allowing the project to enter the implementation phase. Rekache encouraged Hayat DHC, which has 67 institutions operating in multiple sectors across 17 countries, to expand and diversify its investments in Algeria, in addition to its current projects in household cleaning materials, personal care products, and paper products. Hayat DHC already has a presence in Algeria with SARL Hayat DHC Algérie, located in Bouinan, Blida.