Facing the energy challenge in Algeria’s rural areas

Algeria's housing program aimed at building 450,000 rural houses from 2005-2009 and beyond, in the rural areas all over the country, in order to keep rural populations in place. A pilot project is carried out in Souidania, where priority is given to local materials and alternative energy sources.

Julien Théron - Eurojar

The management of urban development requires the implementation of substantial policies, which often do not take into consideration many essential factors such as the financial pay-back, the local development and the energy efficiency. The pilot MED-ENEC project of Souidania was conceived to fulfill these necessary conditions, since the construction phase till the actual utilization.

Serving the rural development
Hamid Afra, Director of the Algerian National Centre for Building Research and Studies (CNERIB), admits he is delighted with the evolution of mentalities: “Day after day, citizens and public bodies become more and more interested in this project. It’s just the start. The concept of energy economy in the construction field begins to take root in Algeria at different levels.”

The CNERIB and the Algerian Centre for Renewable Energy Development (CDER) joined their efforts to build a pilot residential 80 m² rural house suitable for replication within the framework of Algeria's national housing program. Thanks to “a very positive cooperation between the different actors, notably with the European Union, instructive outcomes were generated.”

The pilot project allowed reducing the building energy consumption by 56%, and, at the same time, shedding light on the traditional construction methods, often viewed as energy efficient methods. The use of earth stabilized bricks, natural light and natural ventilation in summer allowed combining, within the same project, the ecological, cultural and economic aspects.

A perfectly replicable project
The project has a very slow return on investment ratio (86 years) because of 40% higher investment cost. Afra insists on the fact that “the project is perfectly replicable and adaptable to different segments of housing.” One of the reasons the return or investment time is so long is that the Algerian state is subsidizing the energy sector. But that is not insurmountable, says Afra, as “it is important to take into account the energy real market prices to evaluate the project’s feasibility on a large scale”, which allows drawing conclusions not only for countries where the energy sector subsidized, but also for Algeria itself. “Governmental subventions for energy products are transitional. Moreover, the Ministry of Housing and Urbanism is implementing a program that aims at building 600 houses that comply with a high energy performance standard.”

This constructive initiative has won over architects and urban planners. Whereas Afra admits that “it’s just a start”, he is delighted that “the concept of energy economy in the construction field is taking root in Algeria, at different levels.”

While the Algerian government was announcing in 2008 a series of measures that give priority to residential rural housing loans and social housing, MED-ENEC pilot project can only serve as an example. The construction sector, notably in rural areas, is viewed as high priority by President Bouteflika who asked the Algerian government to reach, during his mandate (2010-2014), “one million housing units.” Over the period 2004-2009, 42% of the 920,000 new housing units were built in rural areas.

Cooperation dynamics
Given the housing necessities and the climate similarities in the Mediterranean area, this project is expected to be extended outside Algeria. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), farm population is decreasing on each side of the Mediterranean, but less quickly in North African countries than elsewhere. Hence, this region would be able to limit this kind of evolution that impoverishes rural areas and increases demographic pressure on urban centers.

Since 1992, South-South cooperation has been viewed as high priority by the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). The Maghreban Charter for Environment Protection and Sustainable Development stipulates the necessity of “adding the environmental impact dimension as part of the cultural, social and economic development policies, and to consider it as high priority within the development plans; examining the ecological impact of building work; as well as preserving the (natural and cultural) patrimony by giving it particular attention within urban and city development plans.”

Within its Sustainable Development Mediterranean Strategy, the United Nations Organization considers as well that it is highly important to “support national efforts in order to promote farm and rural development programs, according to the community-based development process, to smooth over territorial and social differences and to improve rural populations’ living standards.”

Whether it is a regional cooperation (UMA), a Euro-Mediterranean collaboration (MED-ENEC) or even United Nations programs (Blue plan), the special feature of the Souidania project is the exchange of best practices based at the same time on a housing plan, a rural development strategy, an energy efficiency policy and on ecological houses.

This project was rewarded with 100,000 Euros as a pilot program within the Mediterranean, under the EU-funded program MED-ENEC phase I, where 10 projects were chosen as good examples of best practices and possible development of similar initiatives in the future.