Skip to main content

Delay for key section of Algeria highway

Delays are afflicting the official opening of a stretch of the East-West highway in Algeria. This 84km section of the highway connects Dréan in the east of Algerian to the border with neighbouring Tunisia. A Japanese contractor was in charge of the project to construct the 400km eastern stretch of the East-West highway. However financial problems surrounding the need for additional work led to construction of the final stretch being curtailed. There is concern that should the work be left unfinished any lon
August 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Delays are afflicting the official opening of a stretch of the East-West highway in Algeria. This 84km section of the highway connects Dréan in the east of Algerian to the border with neighbouring Tunisia. A Japanese contractor was in charge of the project to construct the 400km eastern stretch of the East-West highway. However financial problems surrounding the need for additional work led to construction of the final stretch being curtailed. There is concern that should the work be left unfinished any longer, it would likely cost significantly more to complete the stretch of highway. The East-West highway forms a key section of the North African highway route that connects Morocco with Egypt. Delays to the construction of this new route have also arisen due to political unrest in the region, particularly in Libya although there have also been issues in Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.

Related Content

  • Algeria to engage Japanese government over dispute with Cojaal
    January 14, 2015
    The Algerian government is now talking directly to the Japanese government in an effort to resolve a dispute with sacked Japanese highways consortium Cojaal, In 2006, Cojaal won a US$5 billion deal to build the 359km eastern section of Algeria’s proposed 900km East-West Highway within 40 months. Algeria divided the contract into three sections, with the Chinese company Citic-CRCC winning the central and western sections, which in total was to cost around $6 billion.
  • Italians to tender for Libyan project
    May 28, 2012
    Work on the Libyan section of the North African coastal highway now looks set to go ahead. Two consortia from Italy are to tender for the pre-qualifying stage of the US$3 billion project. The highway will run some 1,700km from Libya's border with Tunisia all the way to the border with Egypt. This is the final section in the new highway running all the way from Morocco in North West Africa to Egypt in the North East.
  • Trans-Sahara Highway soon to connect Niger with Algeria
    December 4, 2014
    Construction work started in November on the last part of the Trans-Sahara Highway connecting the Algerian capital Algiers to the Nigerian capital and port Lagos.
  • Delays to key links for major Algerian highway
    April 16, 2015
    Delays are afflicting construction of a new highway that will connect with Algeria’s key East-West highway. The problems focus on the new highway being built to join Béjaïa with the East-West highway. The US$1.02 billion highway project was originally planned for completion by June 2016. However a shortage of construction workers from the local area for the 5,000 or so required means that personnel will have to be recruited from further afield, whether Algeria or neighbouring countries. Delays are also bein