Work started Monday on a new 100-million-dollar Samsung factory in Algeria, which will produce up to 1.5 million electronics products annually.

The new factory is being built in Setif, 300 kilometres (186 miles) east of the capital Algiers. The factory is a joint venture between the South Korean electronics giant and Algerian private investment group Cevital.

Cevital will provide 100 million dollars (78 million euros) in investment, while "Samsung will supply the technology, training and commercial network," the Algerian company’s chief executive Issaad Rebrab said in a statement.

The companies said the factory will manufacture Samsung flat screen televisions, washing machines and refrigerators from the second quarter of 2009. Other products will be added at a later date.

Cevital has been Samsung’s Algerian distributor since 2006.