ALGIERS – The production units of the SIDER complex of El Hadjar in Annaba have resumed their activities following the restart of the blast furnace, said Wednesday a press release from the IMETAL Group.

The same source specified that the El Hadjar steel complex, under the SIDER Group, a subsidiary of the IMETAL Group, “started its effective production” following the restart of the blast furnace on December 19, 2023.

Thus, “the production units entered into activity on January 1, 2024 from the delivery of cast iron from the blast furnace to steelworks 1 and 2 and the electric steelworks while awaiting the arrival of semi-finished products to the rolling mills”, adds the same source.

The operation to restart the blast furnace of the El Hadjar steel complex was launched following a three-month shutdown, following the resolution of the problem of unavailability of coke (coal), necessary for the operation of the blast furnace.

The CEO of the complex, Karim Boulayoune told APS that “a program has been established with production objectives in 2024, of more than 600,000 tonnes of marketable steel products, compared to 300,000 tonnes in 2023.

The El Hadjar steel complex employs more than 5,500 workers and its production consists of flat and long ferrous products, concrete bars, seamless tubes and other steel products.