Economic land in Algeria: the official template for the techno-economic study required by AAPI

1. What Decree 26-154 changed in the economic land application

Official Gazette no. 31 of 28 April 2026 published seven executive decrees dated 14 April 2026, forming a coherent reform of the investor's journey. Three of them bear directly on how an application is built.

The sentence that changes the nature of the exercise

Decree no. 26-154 lists the documents that must accompany an economic land application. The first reads as follows:

Two distinct requirements now coexist: a requirement of form — the template is prescribed and not open to negotiation — and a requirement as to who may author it. A complete study in the wrong format, or one in the right format prepared without the required qualification, faces the same outcome.

The second document: financial capacity

The same provision requires "evidence of the financial capacity relating to the own funds declared for financing the project, in particular the bank statement, the financial statements or any other document capable of establishing the applicant's solvency".

The list is open-ended — "in particular" — but it fixes the objective: to establish solvency, not simply to assert it. This is where the investment file meets the banking file, which we cover in our article on the own contribution banks actually require.

2. The nine-part template, in detail

Here is the structure imposed by Annex V. It reads as a mandatory table of contents: every expected heading is named in the text.

I. General information on the project sponsor

• Identification: corporate name or first name and surname, legal form, trade register number, tax identification number (NIF), registered office, shareholding structure.
• Governance and management team: projected organisation chart, sector experience of the directors, industrial references.
• Financial capacity: financial statements for the last three financial years where the company already exists, self-financing capacity, solvency certificates or financing agreements where available.

II. General presentation of the project

Strategic objectives; nature of the industrial or service activity; summary description of the intended products; target customers, domestic or export; contribution to sector and territorial development.

III. Technical study

• Production process: process diagram, chosen technology, standards and certifications targeted — the text cites ISO, IATF and GMP.
• Production capacity: planned annual volume, yield, utilisation rate.
• Equipment and installations: detailed valued list, technical characteristics, source of equipment and potential suppliers.
• Consumption and technical requirements: electricity, water, gas, fuel; telecommunications needs; environmental constraints — waste, emissions and effluents.

IV. Market study

Analysis of national, regional and international demand; analysis of supply and competition; sector trends; strategic positioning of the project relative to the market; commercial policy and market access.

V. Investment plan

• Initial investment: equipment, buildings, engineering and assembly, working capital.
• Operating costs: raw materials, labour, energy, maintenance, other charges.
• Financing plan: own funds, bank credit, partnerships.

VI. Economic and financial projections

This is the most demanding part, and the one where applications most often fail:

• projected income statement over 3 to 5 years;
• cash flow statement over 3 to 5 years;
• projected balance sheet over 3 to 5 years;
• profitability analysis: IRR, NPV, break-even point and margin rate.

VII. Socio-economic impact

Direct, indirect and induced jobs; effect on the value chain and local subcontracting; contribution in technology and skills; contribution to local integration.

VIII. Implementation schedule

Implementation phases; projected deadlines; operational start-up.

IX. Annexes

Plans and diagrams; CVs of the main directors; financial certificates.

3. Part VI: what IRR, NPV and break-even actually demonstrate

Part VI is the only one that names specific calculated indicators. It is worth knowing what each demonstrates, because that is what the reviewer will look for.

Consistency between parts is decisive here. A break-even point that assumes a utilisation rate higher than the one stated in the technical study, or a financing plan whose loans appear nowhere in the cash flow statement, are internal contradictions visible on a single reading — no sector expertise is needed to spot them.

4. Where to file, and the deadlines the administration must meet

Decree no. 26-153 reorganises AAPI and sets the processing framework. Two types of one-stop shop coexist: the one-stop shop for large projects and foreign investments, with national jurisdiction, and the decentralised one-stop shops, with local jurisdiction over other investments.

The one-stop shop brings together in one place, alongside Agency staff, the permanent services of the national trade register centre, the tax administration, the state property administration, urban planning, the environment, civil protection, energy, the Algerian electricity and gas distribution company, the bodies responsible for labour, employment and social security, and banks and financial institutions. The customs administration appoints a permanent representative to the national one-stop shop.

The deadlines set by the texts

Two provisions give these deadlines their real force. First, Article 22 of Decree no. 26-153: representatives of public administrations within the one-stop shops receive delegated authority to sign and issue, on behalf of the authorities to which they belong, all the acts provided for by the decree. Second, Article 24: "documents issued by the representatives of administrations and other bodies within the one-stop shop are enforceable against the administrations and bodies concerned".

5. After the award: the commitments that follow the file

The file does not end with the decision. Decree no. 26-154 governs what follows, and the commitments made in the study become binding.

This continuity explains why the schedule in Part VIII and the projections in Part VI are not formalities: they are the terms of reference against which execution will be measured.

6. Six recurring pitfalls in a techno-economic study

Observations from our practice preparing and reworking studies, not regulatory provisions.

1. Using a plan other than Annex V. A classic business plan, however good, is not the template. The headings and order of the nine parts are fixed by the text.
2. Treating Part VII as filler. Direct, indirect and induced jobs, local integration and subcontracting are assessment criteria, not a closing courtesy.
3. Producing figures without linking them. The break-even point must be consistent with the utilisation rate in Part III; the financing plan in Part V must appear in the cash flow statement in Part VI.
4. Neglecting the environmental constraints in Part III. Waste, emissions and effluents are expressly required — and they later determine the establishment's classification and its processing deadline.
5. Declaring own funds without usable evidence. The text wants documents establishing solvency: a bank statement, financial statements, or equivalent. A declaration is not enough.
6. Underestimating the schedule in Part VIII. It becomes a monitoring benchmark, and the standard specifications govern the start of works and entry into operation.

This article sets out the contents of the template and the applicable regulatory framework; it constitutes neither legal advice nor a guarantee of obtaining economic land or any authorisation. The texts cited may be amended: verify them with AAPI or in the Official Gazette before filing.

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BENSAID Farouk

Financial & Economic Research Consultant — ProfitPilot NextGen Consulting

Certified sole trader and expert in financial studies, risk analysis and market research for SMEs, startups and investors in Algeria. View full profile →