Algerian industry minister reiterates need to preserve agricultural lands

The necessity to preserve agricultural lands and use them to reduce the food import bill, said Tuesday in Boumerdes (50 km east of Algiers) Minister of Industry and Mining Abdeslam Bouchouareb.
In this regard, he said that the next five-year development plan attaches great importance to the agricultural development with a budget of DZD300 billion for 2015 alone.
"In order to preserve the agricultural lands of the coastal areas, industrial investment will be relocated to high Plateaux regions," the minister told a press briefing on the sidelines of his working visit to the province.
According to the figures provided by the minister, the province of Boumerdes has 22 business parks, an industrial area in Zaatra of 1,122 hectares, and an industrial park of 122 hectares devoted mainly to food industry in the commune of Larbaatache.