Algeria is pushing ahead with projects aimed at promoting national and regional integration. During a meeting with government ministers and officials on June 2, Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune outlined three key mega-projects, including the building of the phosphate fertilizer complex at Bled el Hadba to begin in the first quarter of 2027, the initiation of work on the Algiers–Tamanrasset railway in September 2026, and the completion of the Port of Annaba expansion.
Algeria is rich in phosphate and is one of the world’s major gas producers, two of the resources required to produce phosphate fertilizers. The phosphate feedstock for the Bled el Hadba complex will come from the Jebel-Onk field, which enjoys 840 million tons of reserves and a service life of roughly 80 years. The plan is to produce 10.5 million tons of crude phosphate and 6 million tons of fertilizers per year.
The route of the 2,039 km Algiers–Tamanrasset railway will connect the Mediterranean to the Sahel, linking Algiers with Niger and serving to integrate the Sahel with North Africa. From Algiers, the railway will connect with the Annaba Port, from which it links to the Tunisian coastal railway line to Tunis. The railway will support mining development, including phosphate and iron ore projects, and is being built by a consortium of contractors, including the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) as well as European and domestic contractors. It will be operated by the state railway company.
The CRCC recently completed a trans-Saharan railway in the western part of Algeria. The government has an aggressive railway development program with plans to expand the national rail network to 15,000 km by 2030 and has earmarked 378 billion dinars ($2.8 billion) for railway modernization.
