Annaba Province
Annaba exhibits punctuated equilibrium like metabolic transitions: from Roman wheat port to Africa's largest steel complex, now facing another industrial reset.
Annaba Province has metabolized different energy sources across 2,500 years while occupying the same geographic niche. The Romans knew it as Hippo Regius, a wheat-exporting port that fed Rome; Saint Augustine served as bishop here from 395 until his death during the Vandal siege in 430 CE, as the grain fields outside the walls lay unharvested. The same harbor that shipped ancient grain now exports iron, zinc, and steel.
The 1969 opening of El Hadjar steel complex—built with Soviet and French funding—made Annaba the largest steel producer in Africa. At peak employment, 7,000 workers processed iron ore into steel for construction and export. But industrial metabolism is energy-intensive and vulnerable. ArcelorMittal exited in 2016 following corruption scandals and supply disruptions. As of October 2025, steelmaking had been stopped for months, though a new €1.6 billion Algerian-Emirati plant is planned.
The province demonstrates punctuated equilibrium in economic form: long stable periods interrupted by sudden transitions. Hippo Regius thrived for centuries under Rome, then collapsed in months during the Vandal invasion. Colonial-era mining gave way to independence-era heavy industry, now facing another transition. Through each punctuation, geography persists—the protected harbor, the proximity to European markets (Italy is just across the Mediterranean), the mineral-rich hinterland. Annaba keeps changing function while maintaining position.