Algeria has multiplied by three times its capacity of producing drinking water, in less than 10 years, Algerian state-owned radio channel quoted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as saying on Tuesday.
In an allocution addressed on the occasion of celebrations of World Water Day, Bouteflika said that "93 percent of the population is linked to drinking water networks, and 86 percent to domestic waste water networks, while the share of each citizen has been brought up to 170 litres per day, as required by the international standards."
Algerian President further assumed that his government "has considered the water issue as a national priority in recent years, as huge financial and human resources have been devoted to make the right for using water a concrete reality to all citizens."
In this regard, Bouteflika mentioned that the government has invested 12 billion U.S. dollars, as part of the five-year development plan (2010-2014), to build 18 new dams, pursuing the sea water desalination and waste water treatment programs, as well as the exploitation of groundwater in northern Sahara to transport it into the north and far south regions.