Building the road to economic development

The road linking Algeria to the future Trans-Maghreb highway has been hailed
as the ‘world’s largest road project’. Once this road is completed, it promises
to not only cut down drive time across the country, but also improve economic conditions.

Transport companies in Algeria say the future Trans-Maghreb Highway
will cut hours off road time and lead to a vast improvement in highway safety

Drivers hauling goods across North Africa can look forward to switching into higher gear as early as this year if the country’s East- West Motorway opens on schedule.

With the project managed and built largely by the Chinese, the state-owned media in Beijing hailed the Algerian link in the future Trans-Maghreb Highway as “the world’s largest road project” when a Chinese consortium won the contract for the largest section in 2006. Bragging rights aside, transport companies in Algeria say the project will cut hours off road time and lead to a vast improvement in highway safety.

In addition to improving efficiency in the transport and logistics sector, the roadway will have a knock-on effect on other industries, leading to broader economic development as Algeria seeks to diversify its economic base beyond hydrocarbons, according to Alexandru Gheorghe, Country Manager for DHL Express, Algeria. “Our company is mainly a supplier for the business community, and 80 per cent of our business is in the corporate sector,” says Gheorghe. “From that perspective, the impact of this highway will definitely be beneficial. It will have an impact on other areas besides logistics. It will lead to much easier mobility within the country and therefore lead to the development of other sectors as well. Hopefully it will lead to the development of more manufacturing, and not only in the oil and gas industry.”

One telling incident underscores the dangers of driving on Algeria’s current dilapidated roads. Traveling in the vicinity of Oran, which happens to be the base of the management team that oversees 20,000 workers constructing the westernmost segment of the new motorway, Gheorghe’s vehicle was hit in the rear by a truck while being inter- The road linking Algeria to the future Trans Maghreb highway has been hailed as the ‘world’s largest road project’. Once this road is completed, it promises to not only cut down drive time across the country, but also improve economic conditions, reports Scott MacMillan viewed by phone for this article. Nobody was hurt in the accident.

For drivers and shipping companies, the East-West Motorway will mean less time on narrow roads built decades ago during Algeria’s colonial days. “Most roads are congested. If you want to travel just 300 kilometres, it takes you five to six hours,” says the operations manager of another multinational shipping company, speaking on condition of anonymity. Congestion is widespread and not limited only to urban areas, the manager says. Traversing the entire 1,200 kilometres of the new roadway, from the country’s eastern to its western border, is expected to take just 10 hours.

Safety is a major concern, especially in the eastern part of the country between the Algiers and the Tunisian border, and especially at night. “The roads date back to the French occupation, and there are so many accidents,” adds the manager. “The good thing about the new highway is that it’s going to speed up traveling time. All drivers will feel more secure.” With the road currently connecting major metropolitan areas consisting of only two lanes in both directions, drivers are accustomed to bypassing one another in the rush from one city to the next. Many deaths result from head-on collisions.

The East-West Motorway, on the other hand, will consist of three lanes going in each direction, leaving ample space for overtaking.

The new motorway will also speed up transit times by going around the downtown areas of Algeria’s major cities. The current east-west roadway – which traverses the northern coastal region of Algeria, the most densely populated section of the country – goes directly through urban areas, slowing traffic considerably. A decision to extend the width of the roadway from two lanes to three resulted in a hike in the initial cost estimates, as did a number of other changes including stricter compliance with European standards. The government evidently deemed these improvements well worth the resulting total cost of Algerian Dinar (DZD) 691 billion (US$10.9 billion).

The East-West Motorway takes pride of place in Algeria’s scheme to ramp up its transport infrastructure development, with planned projects including the 3,000 kilometre Trans-Saharan highway, a new airport and underground metro system for the capital, urban tramways and inter-city railways. The road is also but one part of a larger planned Trans- Maghreb Motorway which, if and when completed, will link Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

The French have announced interest in investing in Algeria,
their former colony

Algeria’s East-West Motorway will consist of three lanes
going in each direction

Construction of the road falls into three sections: The Chinese consortium, a joint venture between CITIC Group and the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), handles both the westernmost, from the Tunisian border to Bordj Bou Arréridj, along with the central section, from Bordj Bou Arréridj to Chlef. A Japanese consortium, Cojaal, is constructing the easternmost section from Chlef to the Moroccan border. Over 200 kilometres of the roadway have already been completed, and Amar Ghoul, the minister of public works, was recently quoted in the local press saying parts of the easternmost segment will open this year.

The CITIC/CRCC consortium won the contract for the western and central sections of the roadway two years ago following a tender that saw top builders from around the world competing for the project. American Bechtel, Japanese Taisai and Germany Bilfinger were reportedly among the eight consortia that bid for the DZD 444 billion (US$ Seven billion) deal. The Chinese victory in that contest suggested the Chinese have launched a serious bid to compete with the West in the Algerian gold rush. The French, in particular, have announced their interest in investing in their former colony in North Africa, with President Nicolas Sarkozy visiting Algeria twice last year.

In fact, the road construction project is merely the first of an expected slate of Chinese-Algerian deals. In April, a large delegation from Beijing visited Algiers to announce that Chinese firms were pouring billions into the country as it ramps up for World Trade Organisation membership. The head of CITIC says his firm alone plans to invest some DZD 1,903 billion (US$30 billion) in Algeria. In addition to the roadway, a management training institute and other projects, the Chinese have even floated plans to build an opera house in Algiers.

Still, the largest hurdle in intra-Maghreb transport remains to be overcome, and no amount of foreign investment, from China or the West, is likely to do so, at least not on its own: the long-standing diplomatic spat between Algeria and Morocco stemming mainly from the former’s support for independence fighters in Western Sahara, which is claimed by both Morocco and the Algerian backed rebel group Polisario Front. A sparsely populated territory on the Atlantic Ocean, the Western Sahara rebellion has long been a bone of contention between Algeria and Morocco, disrupting trade all across the Maghreb. Rail links between the two countries are currently closed, which, coupled with the sorry state of Algeria’s roads, has hampered efforts to streamline transportation across the southern Mediterranean coast.

Meanwhile, Morocco and Tunisia, the neighbours on either side, have stepped up efforts to establish stronger trade links with or without Algeria. A privately managed shipping line opened earlier this year from Casablanca to the Tunisian port of Radès, reducing shipping time between the two countries from weeks to days. Following recommendations for strong transport links made by the Tunisian-Moroccan High Joint Committee, the first direct sea link between the two countries eliminates the need for stops in Marseille or Malta.

To the chagrin of officials in Algiers, the Casablanca-Radès sea link also bypasses Algeria entirely. Perhaps the potential provided by speedy overland trade and the boost to local economies will help heal diplomatic rifts in the region.