Algeria is advancing one of its largest infrastructure projects in decades with the construction of a mining railway in the country’s southwest, a scheme authorities and economists say could transform the national economy and reduce dependence on hydrocarbons.
The railway, stretching nearly 950 kilometres, links Béchar, Béni Abbès, Tindouf and the Gara Djebilet mining zone, home to one of Africa’s largest iron ore deposits. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune launched the project in November 2023 as part of a broader strategy to modernise transport infrastructure and unlock mineral resources in remote regions.
Once completed, the line will connect the southwest to industrial and port hubs in northwestern Algeria via a network spanning almost 2,000 kilometres, significantly expanding the national rail system.
Economists say the project is central to developing Algeria’s steel industry and enabling large-scale exploitation of the Gara Djebilet deposit, which has long remained underdeveloped due to logistical constraints.
“The impact of this railway will be long-lasting, both for the exploitation of Gara Djebilet and for the development of rail transport infrastructure,” said Abdessamad Boudi, director of the Laboratory for Economic Studies and Local Development of the Southwest at the University of Béchar.
He said the project balances natural resource extraction with sustainability objectives and will help diversify the economy, which remains heavily reliant on oil and gas revenues.
Algeria produces some steel domestically but relies on imports for part of its needs. Authorities see iron ore extraction and downstream processing as a way to strengthen industrial self-sufficiency while creating jobs in underserved regions.
Economist and university lecturer Mebarek Benzair said the railway would also revitalise freight and passenger transport while integrating previously isolated areas into the national economy.
“The opening up of towns such as Tabelbala, near the border and more than 400 kilometres south of Béni Abbès, will reshape the economic and social landscape of the region,” Benzair said.
He added that planned iron processing and manufacturing facilities along the route could stimulate industrial activity across several provinces, including Béchar, Béni Abbès, Tindouf and Naâma.
The project is overseen by the National Agency for Railway Investment Studies and Implementation Monitoring (ANESRIF), which has conducted daily monitoring since construction began. Work has been entrusted to consortia of Algerian public companies, with Chinese firm China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) involved on certain sections.
According to ANESRIF communications director Abdelkader Mazar, more than 8,000 jobs have been created for engineers, managers and technical staff since construction started.
He said strict oversight has ensured compliance with national and international standards across the project’s 1,431 engineering structures, which include 45 railway bridges, 48 road bridges and 1,338 hydraulic facilities built to withstand Saharan conditions.
Project director Abdechafii Benrabi said the 45 railway viaducts span a combined 20 kilometres, including the bridge over Oued Daoura in Tindouf province, which at 4.1 kilometres is now the longest railway bridge in Algeria and Africa.
Construction of the bridges was completed between July 2024 and November 2025, officials said.
Originally scheduled for phased delivery between March and June 2026, the railway was completed ahead of schedule, a performance authorities have attributed to the technical expertise of ANESRIF, national contractors and their Chinese partner.
Complementary rail projects are also progressing in northwestern Algeria. In Oran, works connecting the Bethioua industrial zone to the Hassi Mefsoukh–Mostaganem railway line were completed earlier this year.
The 7.3-kilometre link includes four engineering structures and is expected to facilitate industrial freight movement from the Bethioua petrochemical and industrial complex.
Together, the projects underscore Algeria’s push to position mining and transport infrastructure as engines of growth, regional integration and industrial development, as the country seeks to reduce vulnerability to fluctuations in global energy markets.
Background to Algeria’s western railway project
The western mining railway is designed primarily to unlock the commercial potential of the Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit, located near Algeria’s border with Mauritania, around 1,300 kilometres southwest of Algiers. Discovered in the 1950s, the deposit is estimated to contain more than 3 billion tonnes of iron ore, making it one of the largest in Africa.
Despite its size, Gara Djebilet remained largely untapped for decades due to its remote desert location, limited transport infrastructure and the relatively high phosphorus content of the ore, which requires specialised processing technologies.
In recent years, Algeria has renewed efforts to develop the site as part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on hydrocarbon exports, which still account for the bulk of state revenues and foreign exchange earnings. The mining railway is a central pillar of this strategy, providing the logistical backbone needed to move iron ore from the southwest to processing plants and export terminals in the north.
The project is being implemented in phases, with priority given to sections linking Gara Djebilet to Béchar and onward to the national rail network. Once operational, the railway is expected to support annual production of tens of millions of tonnes of iron ore, feeding both domestic steel plants and export markets.
Algeria has already begun initial exploitation of the deposit. In 2022, state-owned mining group Manal and China’s CMH consortium launched pilot extraction operations, marking the first commercial steps toward large-scale production. Authorities have since announced plans to scale up output gradually, alongside investments in beneficiation and steelmaking capacity.
The railway also forms part of a wider infrastructure push in Algeria’s southern regions, where the government is seeking to promote balanced territorial development, reduce regional disparities and curb migration pressures toward northern cities.
Beyond mining, officials say the line will support broader economic activity by enabling passenger transport, lowering logistics costs, and encouraging the establishment of industrial and service hubs along the corridor.
Strategically, the project strengthens Algeria’s ambition to become a regional mining and steel hub, serving domestic demand and potentially exporting to markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
