The People’s National Assembly (APN), the Algerian parliamentary body, has announced the launch of its data center.

Located on the fifth floor of the APN building, the data center was inaugurated on October 31, 2024.

Details and further specifications have yet to be shared.

The facility was opened by the president of the APN, Ibrahim Boughali.

According to the APN, its facility is one of the “most modern” in Algeria. It will host “data processing, storage, archiving, and security devices as well as the Assembly’s network and communications devices.”

In April this year, the Algerian government signed an agreement with Huawei to build a government data center to aid the digital transformation of the country. The project was set to launch this year. It is unclear whether these are the same projects.

Around the same time, China announced the China-Africa Action Plan for Digital Cooperation and Development. The initiative will see the building of a China-Africa digital technology cooperation center and will aid Chinese businesses in undertaking 20 digital infrastructure projects in Africa.

Whilst the countries involved remain unclear, China’s initiative will promote digital trade in Africa, and expand 5G networks, smart cities, and e-commerce.

Algeria currently does not have a hyperscaler presence. In spite of the growing interest in data center operations across Africa, Algeria’s data center market is still relatively small.

Local players such as HostArts, Ayrade, ICOSNET, and ISSAL offer local hosting services, mostly out of Algiers and Oran.