ALGERIA: President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated the 950 km Western Mining Railway on February 1. The following day the first shipment of iron ore arrived at the Tosyali Algérie steelworks in Oran, 1 400 km from the mine which the line has been built to serve.
The Western Mining Railway has extended the rail network southwest into the Sahara from the previous railhead at Béchar to serve Tindouf and the mine at Gara Djebilet. It was built by China Railway Construction Corp and local partner Cosider Travaux Publics in co-operation with local state-owned companies including national railway SNTF. CRCC said it was the largest infrastructure project that Chinese companies had undertaken in the country.
CRCC and its local partners were responsible for 575 km of the route. Construction began in December 2023, with more than 8 000 Chinese and Algerian workers completing this section in just 24 months, despite the arid climate and challenging terrain where extreme temperatures exceeded 50°C.
The project team developed Algeria’s first comprehensive standards for desert heavy haul railways, and integrated Chinese and Algerian railway technologies including ‘cutting-edge’ Chinese tracklaying and rail welding techniques and an automated sleeper manufacturing facility.
The concrete sleepers are designed for mixed operation with freight trains with axle loads of 32·5 tonnes and passenger trains running at speeds of up to 120 km/h.
Up to 3 million tonnes of ore is due to be shipped from the mines by the end of 2026, increasing to an annual production of 50 million tonnes by 2040.
Further plans
Meanwhile, Algeria has earmarked 2·4tr dinar to modernise existing lines and expand the network to regions currently not served.
A key component of the programme is the 495 km Laghouat – Ghardaïa – El Meniaa line which is currently under construction to improve links between the centre and south of the country. In November 2025 the African Development Bank approved a €747m loan to support construction works.
This is envisaged as the first phase of a Trans-Saharan Railway corridor which would ultimately extend from northern Algeria to Tamanrasset and onwards to Niger.
