DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The official Qatar News Agency says the gas-rich Gulf nation has agreed to build a steel plant in Algeria, extending its business ties to North Africa.

A deal signed Saturday calls for a plant in the eastern coastal city of Jijel with the capacity to produce five million tons of metal annually.

The news agency reported that Algeria would have a 51 percent stake in the project, with Qatar holding the rest. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Qatar has been ramping up its investments in North Africa’s telecom sector and other industries. It offered Algeria’s neighbor Tunisia a $1 billion low interest loan in April to shore up the country’s battered economy.