ALGIERS, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Amid strong economic resilience, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vowed on Wednesday to make 2027 a key year in the nation's shift to a liberal emerging economy and in efforts to boost African integration.
"We are in a phase of a comprehensive transition from a managed economy toward a free economy," Tebboune said at a meeting with economic operators in Algiers. He called 2027 a turning point, stressing that the gradual shift aims to avoid disrupting social balance.
Tebboune announced that a one-stop shop for investors will open in January 2027, enabling them to handle applications through a single channel without outside interference.
The government will keep removing bureaucratic and legal hurdles and outdated administrative practices to improve the business environment and attract both domestic and foreign investors, the president added.
Algeria's nominal GDP hit 37,790 billion dinars (about 282 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025 and is expected to reach 42,340 billion dinars (about 316 billion dollars) by the end of 2026, a nearly 4 percent growth, Finance Minister Mohammed Lamine Lebboune said at the meeting.
Inflation is projected to hit 4 percent by the end of 2026 due to global geopolitical shifts.
Tebboune also said that the Trans-Saharan Highway, a strategic project connecting Algeria with Niger, Mali, Chad and other African nations, has been completed. It will grant landlocked countries in the region access to Algerian ports, facilitate cross-border trade, cut transport costs and strengthen intra-African economic integration.
Besides, Algeria started building its section of the 4,128-km Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline in June, a project that would transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of Nigeria-produced natural gas to Europe annually. ■