Economic land in Algeria: the full pathway, from pre-registration to the sale deed
📌 In short: Obtaining economic land is not a single formality but an eleven-stage pathway, each stage with its own deadline. Executive Decree no. 26-154 of 14 April 2026, published in Official Gazette no. 31 of 28 April 2026, rewrote several of them and tightened most: 30 days of display, 15 days of processing, 48 hours to reply after the board's decision, 8 days to sign the specifications, 8 days for the concession deed, 3 months for conversion to sale. Here is the full chronology, and what keeps running after signature.
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1. Stages 1 to 3: from displaying the plot to a registered application
Everything starts on the investor digital platform, managed by the Agency. Available property is displayed there, accompanied by a technical sheet specifying the expected activity.
Display of the plot — 30 days
Article 4 sets the display period at thirty days. That is the window during which applications are admissible.
Online pre-registration
The applicant completes, via the platform, the headings of the project: the intended activity, the location and area of the targeted property, and the financing plan — projected project cost, amount of personal contributions and amount of loans.
Confirmation and automatic receipt
"The applicant confirms the choice and formalises the registration of the application against a registration receipt generated automatically by the investor digital platform."
At this stage the required documents are attached, including the techno-economic study complying with the Annex V template and the evidence of financial capacity, which we detail in our article on the techno-economic study template.
Any natural or legal person, domestic or foreign, resident or non-resident within the meaning of Law no. 22-18 on investment, holding an investment project, may apply.
2. Stages 4 to 6: scoring, pre-selection and decision
Processing is digital and follows a strict sequence.
| Stage | Content | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Processing | Scoring via the Annex I evaluation grid, cross-referenced with the targeted plot; ranking in descending order of score | 15 days from expiry of the display period |
| 5. Pre-selection | List of projects ranked in the top three score levels, whose information has been found consistent with the required documents | — |
| 6. Decision | List submitted anonymously to the board, which selects the beneficiary project | Next board session; Agency reply within 48 hours of the decision |
The board rules "taking into account, in particular, the score obtained, the coefficient of each criterion, the parameters, the importance of the project and its impact on the national economy". The scoring is covered in detail in our article on the evaluation grid out of 1,500 points.
The Agency then issues a provisional decision of award, using the model in Annex II to the decree.
Is your file ready for the 30-day window?
The display lasts thirty days and processing fifteen. We prepare the techno-economic study, the financial capacity evidence and the consistency of declared data in advance.
Prepare my application →3. Stage 7: the provisional decision becomes final
A point often misunderstood: the award decision is not immediately final.
📜 "The provisional decision becomes final only after expiry of the appeal periods provided for by Presidential Decree no. 22-296 of 4 September 2022."
An unsuccessful applicant may lodge a complaint and then, where the outcome notified via the platform is unfavourable, an appeal to the National High Commission for Investment Appeals.
- If the appeal is inadmissible or rejected, the Agency notifies the final decision authorising the concession in favour of the selected investor, using the model in Annex III.
- If the appeal is upheld, the successful appellant is informed of the final decision; the Agency cancels the provisional decision and notifies the initial beneficiary.
The decree also covers subsequent cancellation: the board then selects, at its next session, a new beneficiary from the pre-selected list, or decides to return the property to the economic land portfolio.
Collecting the final decision: the beneficiary is invited to contact the territorially competent one-stop shop within a period not exceeding fifteen days from expiry of the appeal periods or from notification of the High Commission's decision.
4. Stages 8 and 9: specifications and concession deed
This is where the calendar tightens and commitments become binding.
| Stage | Deadline | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| One-stop shop's invitation to sign the specifications | 48 hours from collection of the final decision | Art. 9 bis |
| Investor's signature of the specifications | 8 days from notification via the platform | Art. 9 bis |
| Concession deed drawn up by the state property representative | 8 days from receipt of the file | Art. 11 |
| Taking possession of the property | Report drawn up by the one-stop shop as soon as the deed is issued | Specifications, Art. 20 |
Signing the specifications "commits the investor to carrying out the planned investment project in full compliance with its clauses and conditions". And Article 9 bis recalls that "the beneficiary investor is bound to comply with the declarations made when formulating the application".
⚠️ The penalty for silence. Failure to comply, "after one (1) formal notice that has remained without effect for ten (10) days, results in cancellation of the economic land award decision". One notice, ten days: the margin is narrow.
Article 13 sets out what the concession opens in return: it "entitles its holder to obtain the building permit and all authorisations, approvals and administrative documents enabling effective implementation of the investment project, from the investment one-stop shops".
5. Stage 10: the construction phase and its obligations
The standard specifications annexed to the decree govern execution through a series of deadlines and commitments.
| Obligation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Filing the building permit application at the one-stop shop | 2 months from issuance of the concession deed |
| Start of construction works | 6 months from obtaining the building permit |
| Completion and entry into operation | Period stated in the specifications, from obtaining the building permit |
| Payment of the annual rental fee | 15 days from receipt of the payment order |
| Project progress report | half-yearly, submitted to the Agency through its one-stop shop |
| Agency's reply to a change-of-activity request | 1 month from referral |
The annual rental fee is "payable from the entry of the project into operation". In the event of late payment, the state property collector gives formal notice to pay "within eight days" the amount increased by a 5% penalty; failing which, the collector refers the matter to the Agency's one-stop shop to terminate the concession.
The investor must also notify the Agency, through the one-stop shop, of "any changes to any element concerning the investment project".
6. Stage 11: converting the concession into a sale
This is the culmination of the scheme: moving from a right of use to ownership.
Processing the request — 3 months
Article 15 as amended provides for a period "not exceeding three (3) months from the date of receipt of the request".
Drawing up the sale deed — 15 days
"The state property representative at the Agency's one-stop shop draws up the sale deed within a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days from the date the file is transmitted."
Costs borne by the investor
The specifications place on the investor the registration duties, the land publicity tax on the sale deed, and all other duties and taxes in force when the deed is drawn up.
Termination, at the other end of the pathway
Article 17 governs exit from the scheme. Termination may be initiated by the Agency, through its one-stop shop, in particular where the concession holder fails to meet its commitments. It requires formal notices that have remained without effect, the first issued and sent by the Agency, the next served by a bailiff for the same period. On the basis of the notified termination decision, the state property representative at the one-stop shop draws up the termination deed.
🔎 Field observation (our engagements, not a regulatory text). The pathway is short on paper and long in practice, for a simple reason: most deadlines run from an act the investor must initiate — collecting a decision, signing specifications, filing a permit application. It is the waiting days between those acts, not the administrative deadlines, that stretch the real calendar.
This article reproduces the procedure as organised by Executive Decree no. 26-154 and the annexed standard specifications; it constitutes neither legal advice nor a guarantee of obtaining economic land. The text may be amended: verify it with AAPI or in the Official Gazette before filing.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
🔎 Sources and references
- Executive Decree no. 26-154 of 14 April 2026 amending and supplementing Executive Decree no. 23-487 of 28 December 2023 — Art. 2 (rewriting Arts. 4, 6, 7 and 9), Art. 3 (Arts. 9 bis and 9 bis 1), Art. 4 (Arts. 11, 13, 15 and 17), and Annex IV (standard specifications, Arts. 18 to 25) — Official Gazette of the Algerian Republic no. 31 of 28 April 2026 · Verified on 01/08/2026
- Executive Decree no. 26-153 of 14 April 2026 on the reorganisation of the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency — Official Gazette of the Algerian Republic no. 31 of 28 April 2026 · Verified on 01/08/2026
- Law no. 22-18 of 24 July 2022 on investment; Presidential Decree no. 22-296 of 4 September 2022 (National High Commission for Investment Appeals) — Official Gazette of the Algerian Republic · Verified on 01/08/2026
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