The morning sun shone on the Sahara Desert, and Muhammad drove a truck loaded with goods along the east-west highway towards the east. This "transportation artery" constructed by a Chinese company has shortened its transportation time from the past 3 days to 10 hours now. Previously, one had to cross mountains and valleys to make a trip, but now this road is like the backbone of Algeria, truly connecting the east and west together, "Muhammad sighed.

This is a microcosm of China's aid projects in Algeria. From the completion of the east-west expressway in August 2023, to the longest heavy-duty railway bridge in Africa in December 2025, and to the world's tallest minaret, the Great Mosque of Jiama, Chinese companies are writing construction legends on the land of Algeria.

A super project that connects the lifeline of development

The East West Expressway, with a total length of 1216 kilometers, is a super project constructed by Chinese enterprises in Algeria. Chinese companies are responsible for 612 kilometers (including the continuation projects of the central, western, and eastern sections) and have overcome world-class technical challenges such as mudstone geology. After the completion of this highway, the travel time between the east and west has been shortened from 3 days to 10 hours, making it a true "transportation artery".

In the southwestern desert region, Africa's first desert heavy-duty railway, the Western Railway Mining Line, is under construction. This 575 kilometer railway connects the industrial zone of Besar Province with the iron ore mining area of Tindouf Province. In December 2025, the longest heavy-duty railway bridge in Africa (PK330 Bridge) was successfully completed and is expected to be opened to traffic in 2026. After the completion of the project, the annual transportation capacity will reach 40-50 million tons, which will completely change the transportation pattern in the southwestern region.

In the mountainous areas of the northwest, the Gantas Tunnel has a total length of 14.68 kilometers on both sides and took six and a half years to complete, overcoming the global problem of expansive mudstone geology. After the tunnel was completed, the train speed increased from 80 kilometers per hour to 160 kilometers per hour, and the travel time for passengers in the northwest was reduced by half.

Landmark buildings that change the city skyline

In the center of Algiers, the 265 meter high minaret of the Grand Mosque of Jiama soared into the sky, setting a record for the world's tallest minaret. The project, undertaken by China Construction Group, adopts European standards for construction and has a seismic design of level 9. It took 9 years to complete. This building not only appears on Algerian banknotes, but also becomes a permanent witness to the friendship between China and Algeria.

On the edge of the Sahara Desert, large-scale photovoltaic power plants such as Biscara 220 MW and Besar 154 MW fully utilize Algeria's abundant light resources. These projects adopt advanced Chinese technology and can provide hundreds of millions of kilowatt hours of clean electricity annually, helping to transform the energy structure.

In agricultural production areas, the 100000 ton grain storage project undertaken by enterprises such as China Electric Power Construction adopts advanced grain storage technology, significantly enhancing the local grain reserve capacity. The projects of Hanshelai Grain Warehouse and Setif Grain Warehouse are of great significance in ensuring the food security of this agricultural country.

Successful output of Chinese standards

From the "Chinese standards" for railway sleepers to the "Chinese solutions" for tunnel construction, from the "Chinese technology" for photovoltaic power plants to the "Chinese craftsmanship" for grain warehouse construction, Chinese enterprises have successfully achieved the output of technical standards in Algeria, enhancing China's discourse power in the international engineering field.

Localized management has become a model of cooperation between China and Arab countries. Taking the Western Railway Mining Line project as an example, the employment rate of local employees exceeds 70%, and thousands of technical workers have been trained for the local area. China Electric Power Construction Corporation formed a joint venture with local enterprises in the Hanshelai Grain Depot project, successfully winning the bid for a project that was only open to local contractors, achieving a major breakthrough in localized operations.

In the construction of the East West Expressway, Chinese companies have added animal passages and sedimentation tanks in wetland conservation areas; Strict measures should be taken for sand prevention and control during construction in desert areas; The project also actively fulfills its social responsibility by building roads, drilling wells, and donating funds to support local communities in education.

Currently, China Arab cooperation is expanding from traditional infrastructure to new fields such as new energy, digital economy, and green industries. The "New Algeria" vision proposed by the Algerian government is highly consistent with the the Belt and Road Initiative, and the cooperation between the two sides has broad prospects. Chinese companies will continue to deeply cultivate the market in Algeria, promote the landing of more high-quality projects, and make new contributions to the development of Algeria and the friendly cooperation between China and Algeria.

From the Mediterranean coast to the depths of the Sahara, Chinese aid projects have left a profound mark on the land of Algeria. These projects are not only improvements to infrastructure, but also the transmission of development concepts and the construction of friendship bridges. Under the the Belt and Road framework, China Arab cooperation will continue to deepen and jointly write a new chapter of mutual benefit and win-win results.Editor/Yang Meiling