How much does a technical and economic feasibility study cost in Algeria, and why quotes vary fourfold
In short: The texts that require a technical and economic study — chief among them Executive Decree No. 26-154 of 14 April 2026 — dictate its content, its format and the standing of its author. None of them dictates its price. There is therefore no enforceable fee scale: a quote is justified by the workload, not by a regulated tariff. This article explains what creates that workload, gives the ranges and lead times we apply, sets out what the price never covers — the environmental impact study above all — and what Algerian tax rules add to the figure quoted.
Keywords in this article
1. Is there an official tariff for a technical and economic study in Algeria?
No. The texts that require the study say nothing about what it should cost.
Executive Decree No. 26-154 of 14 April 2026, published in Journal officiel No. 31 of 28 April 2026, amends Article 6 of Executive Decree No. 23-487 of 28 December 2023. An applicant for industrial land must now attach to the application:
“the technical and economic study of the investment project, duly prepared by a qualified professional, in accordance with the standard outline in Annex (V)”
Three requirements, then: content, format, and the standing of the author. None of them is a price requirement. The neighbouring document in the same file confirms it: for the environmental impact study, Article 4 of Executive Decree No. 07-145 of 19 May 2007 provides that “the impact study or impact notice shall be prepared at the developer's expense by consultancy firms accredited by the minister responsible for the environment” — an accreditation and a payer, not a price.
The exact scope of this statement. It holds for the texts we read while preparing this article: Executive Decrees No. 26-154, No. 23-487 and No. 07-145, together with Decrees No. 26-153, 26-156, 26-157 and 26-158 in the same Journal officiel No. 31. None contains a fee schedule. We assert nothing beyond those texts.
The practical consequence: two quotes for the same project can differ fourfold without either being off-market. What separates them is not a tariff but a scope of work.
2. What makes the price vary from single to fourfold?
The table below sets out what actually separates two quotes, as observed in our own engagements. It is not a rule of law: it is field observation, and should be read as such.
| Driver | Impact | What pushes a quote to the top of the range |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Who the file is for | Decisive | An industrial land file follows the Annex V standard outline part by part. A bank file and an investor memorandum do not share that imposed table of contents. |
| 2. Size and complexity of the investment | High | A multi-line process, utilities to size, civil works to cost. |
| 3. State of the input data | High | Missing supplier quotations, input prices to rebuild, no historical accounts. |
| 4. Market study to be produced | High | Field verification, price surveys, interviews — as opposed to compiling secondary sources. |
| 5. Number of financial scenarios | Medium | High/low cases, financing variants, sensitivity tests. |
| 6. Languages and copies | Medium | An Arabic version for filing, bound copies, technical annexes. |
| 7. Urgency | Variable | A compressed deadline is paid for in rescheduling, not in quality. |
Field observation (our engagements, not a regulatory text). Driver No. 3 is the most underestimated. A file that arrives with its supplier quotations and cost grid takes a fraction of the time of one where everything has to be rebuilt — and it is the only driver the client can act on to bring their own quote down.
Driver No. 1 is not a sales argument: the requirement of a “qualified professional” is in the text itself. The decree does not define that qualification, however, and we have found no implementing text clarifying it to date.
Comparing two study quotes and unsure what separates them?
Send us both scopes. We will tell you what each one actually contains, what is missing, and what that means at filing stage. Scoping is free and leads to a written quote.
Scope my requirement3. What price ranges and lead times do we apply in 2026?
The amounts below are our published indicative fees, not a market average: we are not aware of any public statistics on study prices in Algeria. They come from our practice and are confirmed by a written quote after a free scoping session.
| Project type | Lead time | Indicative fee (excl. tax) |
|---|---|---|
| Small activity (investment under DZD 10 million) | 7 to 10 days | From DZD 150,000 |
| Mid-sized industrial project | 12 to 15 days | DZD 300,000 to 500,000 |
| Large project (over DZD 100 million) | 15 to 25 days | On quotation |
| Compliance audit of an existing study | 3 to 5 days | On quotation |
Lead times run from receipt of a complete file. Illustrative ranges, to be confirmed project by project.
Why these thresholds
The boundaries follow the thresholds that the administration and the financing schemes set themselves.
- DZD 10 million is the micro-enterprise financing ceiling published by NESDA on its portal (consulted in September 2026). Below it, a file generally targets a support scheme, and the study is calibrated on that scheme.
- DZD 2 billion is the threshold which, according to the AAPI press release of 10 June 2024, separates registration with the decentralised one-stop shops from registration with the One-Stop Shop for Large Projects and Foreign Investments. Above it the counterparty changes — and the documentary standard with it. Foreign investors fall under that second window irrespective of project size.
In our experience, the announced lead time is more often missed by the client than by the consultant: obtaining supplier quotations and solvency documents is what stretches the calendar. The times above run from a complete file, and that is not a stylistic caveat.
4. What does the price of a technical and economic study never cover?
A study quote is not a lump sum for a complete file. Three items sit outside it every time.
1. The environmental impact study or notice
This is the costliest confusion. For projects within its scope, Executive Decree No. 07-145 of 19 May 2007 requires an impact study or notice prepared at the developer's expense by an accredited consultancy firm (Art. 4), with its own content listed in Article 6 — baseline state of the site, construction and operating phases, emissions, impact assessment, cumulative effects, mitigation measures, environmental management plan, financial implications. A second deliverable, a second provider, a second price.
The calendar matters as much as the amount: Article 17 provides that “the examination of the file shall not exceed four (4) months from the date of closure of the public enquiry”. Journal officiel No. 31 of 28 April 2026 amended both that decree (No. 26-156) and the one on classified installations (No. 26-157): a field to verify against the text itself.
2. Evidence of financial capacity
Article 6 as amended of Decree No. 23-487 requires, alongside the study, evidence of the applicant's financial capacity: bank statements, financial statements, and any other document establishing solvency. The project owner assembles these; the consultant does not produce them.
3. Planning permits
Executive Decree No. 26-158 of 14 April 2026, published in the same Journal officiel No. 31, amends the regime for planning instruments. Permits, authorisations and the related fees fall outside the study's scope.
Field observation (our engagements, not a regulatory text). We regularly see project budgets with a single line labelled “study”. Where the project is a classified installation, at least two are needed, on two separate calendars.
5. Is the quoted price exclusive of tax, and how should the invoice be settled?
A study is a supply of services: it falls under the standard VAT rate of 19%. The Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) states, on its “Value added tax” page updated on 23 February 2026, that the standard rate is 19% and the reduced rate 9%, the latter being confined to the operations listed in Article 23 of the Turnover Tax Code.
| Illustrative example | Amount excl. tax | VAT at 19% | Amount incl. tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small activity | DZD 150,000 | DZD 28,500 | DZD 178,500 |
| Mid-sized industrial project (low end) | DZD 300,000 | DZD 57,000 | DZD 357,000 |
| Mid-sized industrial project (high end) | DZD 500,000 | DZD 95,000 | DZD 595,000 |
Illustrative values, computed on the indicative ranges above to show the gap between amounts excluding and including tax. They do not constitute a quote.
How you pay decides whether the VAT is deductible
This is the point discovered last. The DGI states, on the same page, that “taxpayers are not entitled to deduct VAT on invoices settled in cash or by bank transfer where the amount exceeds DZD 1,000,000 including tax”, the right to deduct being granted, however, where settlement takes the form of a cash deposit into a bank or postal account (Article 30 of the Turnover Tax Code).
Two further points from the same page bear on cash flow: for supplies of services, the VAT chargeable event is collection of the price — a down payment is taxed as soon as it is paid; and taxpayers under the single flat-rate regime (IFU) are outside the scope of VAT, invoicing inclusive of tax.
From our engagements, the question “excluding or including tax?” is almost never asked at quotation stage and almost always at payment stage. A clear quote carries both amounts and the provider's tax regime.
6. Does the cheapest study end up costing more?
The question can be measured. In its press release of 10 June 2024 on the granting of industrial land, AAPI reported that since applications began to be processed through the digital investor platform on 8 February 2024, 248 provisional allocation decisions had been issued, of which only 63 had become final, and that eight project owners had withdrawn from their provisional decision “owing to their lack of preparation and their inability to meet the conditions declared”.
Those figures are from June 2024 and cover the platform's first months: they do not describe the current state of the scheme. What they say has not aged, however — the gap between a file submitted and a file completed is decided by preparation, and preparation has a cost.
Field observation (our engagements, not a regulatory text). A study reworked after a rejection rarely costs less than the original: the reasons for refusal must first be understood, then the work redone. And the time lost is counted in months of project delay, not days of study.
Three questions to put to any quote, whatever the amount
- Which outline does the deliverable follow? For an industrial land file, the expected answer is the Annex V standard outline of Decree No. 26-154, in its own order.
- What is excluded? The impact study, the solvency evidence and the planning permits almost always are.
- Is the amount exclusive or inclusive of tax, and under which regime? Between DZD 150,000 excluding tax and DZD 150,000 including tax, the gap is 19%.
This article sets out the applicable regulatory framework and the fee ranges we apply; it is neither legal advice, nor investment advice, nor a guarantee that industrial land, an authorisation or financing will be obtained. The amounts quoted are indicative and do not constitute a quote. The texts cited may be amended: verify them in the Journal officiel or with AAPI before any filing.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
Not to our knowledge. Executive Decree No. 26-154 of 14 April 2026 imposes the study's content, its standard outline (Annex V) and the standing of its author — “a qualified professional” — but no fee schedule. Executive Decree No. 07-145 of 19 May 2007, which governs environmental impact studies, requires an accredited firm and places the cost on the developer, again without setting a price. A quote is therefore justified by the scope of work, not by a regulated tariff.
At ProfitPilot, from DZD 150,000 excluding tax for a small activity under DZD 10 million of investment, DZD 300,000 to 500,000 excluding tax for a mid-sized industrial project, and on quotation above DZD 100 million. These are our indicative ranges, not a market average: we are not aware of any public statistics on study prices in Algeria. Initial scoping is free and leads to a written quote.
Our ranges are stated excluding tax. A study is subject to the standard VAT rate of 19% according to the DGI page updated on 23 February 2026, the reduced rate of 9% being confined to the operations listed in Article 23 of the Turnover Tax Code. A clear quote carries the amount excluding tax, the VAT and the amount including tax.
It can, but the method of settlement has a tax consequence. The DGI states that taxpayers are not entitled to deduct VAT on invoices settled in cash or by bank transfer where the amount exceeds DZD 1,000,000 including tax; the right to deduct is granted where settlement takes the form of a cash deposit into a bank or postal account (Article 30 of the Turnover Tax Code). The question therefore arises as soon as the invoice approaches that threshold.
No. These are two separate deliverables produced by two different providers. Executive Decree No. 07-145 of 19 May 2007 provides that the impact study or notice is prepared at the developer's expense by a consultancy firm accredited by the minister responsible for the environment (Art. 4), with its own content listed in Article 6. Its calendar is separate too: examination of the file must not exceed four months from the closure of the public enquiry (Art. 17).
Because they do not cover the same work. In the practice we observe, the gaps come chiefly from who the file is for, the state of the input data the client supplies, the extent of the market study to be produced and the number of financial scenarios requested. Comparing two quotes therefore means comparing their scopes first, item by item, rather than their headline amounts.
Sources and references
- Executive Decree No. 26-154 of 26 Chaoual 1447 corresponding to 14 April 2026, amending and supplementing Executive Decree No. 23-487 of 28 December 2023 setting the conditions and procedures for the concession of industrial land convertible into transfer of ownership — Article 6 as amended (file contents, technical and economic study prepared by a qualified professional in accordance with the Annex V standard outline, evidence of financial capacity). See also, in the same issue, Executive Decrees No. 26-153, 26-156, 26-157 and 26-158 — Journal officiel de la République algérienne No. 31 of 28 April 2026 · Verified on 12/09/2026
- Executive Decree No. 07-145 of 2 Joumada El Oula 1428 corresponding to 19 May 2007 determining the scope, content and approval procedures for environmental impact studies and notices — Art. 4 (developer's expense, accredited consultancy firms), Art. 6 (content of the impact study), Art. 17 (examination of the file not exceeding four months from closure of the public enquiry) — Full text published by the Agence nationale des déchets (AND) · Verified on 12/09/2026
- “Value added tax (VAT)” — standard and simplified regimes: standard rate 19%, reduced rate 9% (Art. 23 of the Turnover Tax Code), chargeable event for supplies of services (collection), exclusion of the right to deduct for invoices settled in cash or by bank transfer above DZD 1,000,000 including tax (Art. 30), single flat-rate regime. Page updated 23 February 2026 — Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) — Ministry of Finance · Verified on 12/09/2026
- “Financement” — self-financing, mixed and triangular financing formulas, contribution rates of the project owner, the Agency and the bank, and the DZD 10,000,000 micro-enterprise financing ceiling — NESDA — Agence nationale d'appui et de développement de l'entrepreneuriat · Verified on 12/09/2026
- Press release “Granting of industrial land for investment projects” of 10 June 2024 — DZD 2 billion threshold between the decentralised one-stop shops and the One-Stop Shop for Large Projects and Foreign Investments; 248 provisional allocation decisions issued since 8 February 2024, of which 63 became final and 8 were withdrawn — AAPI — Algerian Agency for Investment Promotion · Verified on 12/09/2026
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