Algeria’s electricity and gas utility Sonelgaz appointed Mohamed Arkab as chief executive at the end of August. No sooner had his appointment been announced than he was telling journalists “the use of external debt is totally rejected” for capacity expansions.
This represents a rejection of the policy of a predecessor at the Sonelgaz helm Noureddine Boutarfa, who left Sonelgaz to take over as Minister of Energy before being unceremoniously sacked earlier this year (MEES, 9 June). He had signaled an “urgent” need for international lending to fill a $10bn funding gap. (CONTINUED - 803 WORDS)
