IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE THE MERCIFUL
ALGERIA EAST-WEST MOTORWAY
Algeria's project of the century is knowing its final phase, as the 1,200-kilometer expressway linking Annaba (Eastern City close to the Tunisian boarder) to Tlemcen (Western City close to the Moroccan boarder) is to be finally realised by 2009, and therefore ,should have a dramatic impact on Algeria's economy.
The new road should stimulate the setting up of companies away from Algiers and extend economic activities in a more balanced manner , undoubtedly the new motorway will increase productivity, allow big savings in time and effort and will be a fantastic asset to the Algerian economy , according to Experts.
It goes without saying that in Algeria, 85% of commercial exchanges are made by road, as a total of 19 of Algeria's regions or Wilayas will be connected by this new motorway, the new project is part of the government's $60 billion national economic development programme for 2005-2009; the Algerian East- West Motorway forms part of the larger Trans-Maghreb Motorway project, which will link Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
This motorway will be a 2x3 lane, an overall distance of over 1,000kms and built to European standards. The road has been divided into three sections; East, Central and West. For each section a design and build contract has been awarded with an overall contract period of 40 months. Chinese consortium(CITIC) , Canadian company(Dessau-Soprin) and Japanese groups ( Kajima Corp., Taisei Corp., Nishimatsu Construction Co. and Hazama Corp., ) are the main "contract-winning parties"
The above mentioned companies and other Turkish and Italian companies are also an active part of this huge project in a bid to realise a third of 1,200-km (745-mile) highway that will connect Algeria to Tunisia and Morocco, and it will cost an approximate amount of 11 billion US$.
The scale of the project in terms of length and requirements (i.e. almost 200 major structures of up to 550 metres ) makes this a challenging project to be completed within a very tight time frame. The quantities of materials, the large numbers of plant and equipment, along with a workforce over around 20,000 all mean that good and timely preparation, planning and coordination will be of paramount importance.
The Algerian East-West Highway will be 1,216 kilometres long, for which 927 kilometres has yet to be built ,this challenging deal represents the largest volume for a single overseas contracting project and the highest technological level among all projects conducted by Foreign contractors, once the project is realised it is to ensure the connection between the Tunisian border to the east and the Moroccan border to the west, and will serve the cities of Annaba, Constantine, Setif, Algiers, Oran and Tlemcen.
It will cross 24 of the country's 48 wilayas (or provinces). The six-lane highway, three lanes in each direction, will comprise 60 interchanges, 538 engineering structures, including 70 major viaducts, 13 tunnels, rest areas, service stations, truck stops, as well as highway maintenance and operation centres.
No wonder, that Algerian people are quiet amazed at the "reality" of this project, and for once they are having mixed feelings of awe and disbelief upon this landmark achievement, seeing that this tangible project can be "seen and touched" unlike other past fictional "projects" that were buried at birth!!!
