Algeria- The National Railway Transport Company in Algeria launched a wide program to purchase various types of railway transport equipment, including high-capacity locomotives, passenger transport vehicles, self-propelled trains, high-speed self-propelled trains, freight transport vehicles, and maneuvering locomotives.
The company’s director of management and contributions control, Sufyan Aibesh, revealed in an interview with Algerian radio that 378 billion Algerian dinars ($3 billion) had been allocated to the purchase process, confirming the authorities’ approval to finance it temporarily.
rehabilitation
On the other hand, the company is currently implementing another program to rehabilitate, maintain and renew its facilities and lines at a cost exceeding 41 billion Algerian dinars ($300 million).
During the year 2023, the National Agency for Studies and Follow-up of Investments in Railways (ANSREF) in Algeria put more than 700 kilometers of railway into service.
The Algerian News Agency quoted a company official as saying that the railway infrastructure development program has witnessed a “strong boost” since 2020, with the provision of the necessary financial allocations, which allowed the length of the network to be increased to 4,722 kilometers, and it is expected to reach 6,500 kilometers upon completion of the ongoing program. And 15 thousand kilometers by 2030.
Regarding the major lines, the same source explained that “ANSREF” is working to deliver railway lines to the far south, through 5 tracks, the most prominent of which is the first track extending between the capital and the Niger border at a distance of 2,439 km, while the second connects Oran to the Mali border at a distance of 2,480 km. In addition to the fourth route linking the port of Jinjin (Jijel) to the Algerian-Libyan border, at a distance of 2,275 km.
In November 2023, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune laid the foundation stone for a new railway project at a distance of 950 kilometers within the framework of the railway connection to the “Gara Jbeilat” mine.
Local press sources close to the government revealed that the value of this new railway transport project is estimated at 700 billion dinars ($5.2 billion), to be ready within 30 months by the end of 2026.
The longest network in Arab and Africa
The former Algerian Minister of Transport, Ammar To, explained that the Algerian railway network jumped from approximately 1,800 kilometers in 2008 to 5,000 kilometers currently, with its continued expansion in all regions of the country, with the aim of completing the goal of 15,000 kilometers by 2030, which will then be the longest railway network in Africa. And the Arab world.
The former minister told Al Jazeera Net that this boom was accompanied, starting in 2014, by a gradual decline in the pace of achievement against the backdrop of the financial difficulties experienced by Algeria, as a result of the collapse of oil prices in mid-2014.
He added that the effort to expand the network has increased since 2020 in various regions of the country, especially through the projects being completed in the desert areas, expecting that the line linking the cities of Béchar and Tindouf and the strategic iron mine of “Gara Jbeilat” with a length of 950 kilometers will generate between 10 and 14 billion dollars annually, Starting from 2026/2027.
The former minister considered this line par excellence economical, as it transports mainly iron ores to the north of the country, where there are huge iron and steel complexes, such as the Algerian-Turkish factory in Oran with a capacity of 5 million tons annually, the Algerian-Qatari factory in Jijel with a capacity of two million tons annually, and the Annaba factory with a capacity Two million tons annually.
Iron ore transportation
For his part, the advisor to the World Bank, Mohamed Hammadouche, described the (Bachar-Tindouf) line project as a strategic investment that enhances the exploitation of the Ghar Jbeilat mine to extract 50 million tons of iron ore annually.
In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, the expert expected that the project would contribute to reducing dependence on imports and saving $3 billion annually, which supports Algeria’s hard currency reserves, in addition to reducing its dependence on global markets.
The project also works to improve transportation infrastructure, as it expands the railway network and improves connectivity between the southern and northern regions, which reduces transportation costs and increases Algeria’s competitiveness as a major exporter of iron, according to Hammadouche.
The same spokesman said that this project alone provides about 3,000 direct jobs, which supports local development and reduces unemployment rates in the southern regions.
The project also represents an important opportunity to diversify the Algerian economy, but it requires effective management of financial, logistical and social challenges to achieve its goals, as he put it.
Transport of agricultural products
On the other hand, former Minister Ammar To pointed out the importance of the line linking northern Algeria to its extreme south, at a distance of 2,200 kilometers, and it is under construction, passing through the Sahara desert regions, the beating oil and agricultural heart, as he described it.
He explained that the lands adjacent to the aforementioned line abound with a large surplus of various vegetables and fruits, and sheep raising activity, which require air-conditioned railway transportation towards the north to market them, nationally, or export them, especially in light of the Italian and Qatari investments in the field of growing durum wheat, dry legumes, and milk production.
Ammar To pointed out that the line will connect Algerian ports for transporting containers coming from various regions of the world, with sub-Saharan African countries, along the Trans-Saharan Road, via Algeria, Niger and Nigeria.
The former minister noted the double line linking the port city of Annaba to the phosphate mining region rich in reserves exceeding 2.8 billion tons, south of Tebessa Governorate, at a distance of 422 kilometers, which will provide the Algerian treasury with direct revenues of about two billion dollars annually.
Ammar To pointed out the importance of the line branching south from the city of Béchar towards Adrar Governorate, at a distance of 600 kilometers, where there is partnership in the oil industry with foreigners, and giant Qatari investments in the production of powdered milk and infant formula, the production of red meat, and the cultivation of fodder for 270,000 heads of dairy cows in the future. To produce 1.7 billion liters of milk annually, with financial allocations exceeding $3.5 billion, which also raises the urgent need for appropriate rail transportation.
The network is completed by breaking the isolation of the Wadi Souf region, which is rich in its diverse agricultural products, for the purpose of marketing it internally or exporting it under competitive conditions, by linking it to the north, east towards Annaba or Constantine, or towards Algiers in the centre, according to the former minister’s words.
Ammar Tu said that the speed of Algerian trains has been raised to 220 kilometers per hour on all new lines, with efforts to gradually connect them to electricity while adopting security technologies and advanced communications systems.
