In August, the eastern plateau of Algeria is scorching under the scorching sun. A railway line spanning east and west is quietly spreading between mountains and plains - this is the Algerian National Key Project Eastern Phosphate Mining Railway. On August 23, 2026 local time, Abdulkader Djelawi, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure of Algeria, and Du Fei, Chairman of China Road and Bridge Corporation, sat at the same conference table. Just a few days ago, the two of them each walked hundreds of kilometers along this railway line, from the bridge pier to the tunnel face, checking the construction progress one by one. At this moment, facing each other, the only problem that both sides need to solve is how to make this railway open on time.

Minister supervises the battle on site

From August 15th to 17th, Minister Jeravi led a team to visit the construction site of the Eastern Phosphate Mining Railway Line project and conducted a three-day on-site evaluation of the overall construction progress. Whether the bridge pile foundation is stable, whether the tunnel excavation is progressing according to plan, and whether the construction access road can meet the entry and exit of large machinery - these are the key points of the minister's on-site inspection. This railway, with a total length of 422 kilometers, is the highlight of Algeria's railway network construction. After completion, it will directly connect the phosphate mining area in Tebessa Province, the industrial zone along the line, and the Annaba port on the Mediterranean coast. It is regarded as a strategic pivot to leverage the economic development of eastern Algeria. Therefore, the minister's visit is not only a routine inspection, but also a comprehensive physical examination of the engineering quality.

China increases resource investment

Even before the minister's inspection, China Road and Bridge Corporation had taken the lead. On August 21-22, Du Fei, Chairman of China Road and Bridge Corporation, made a special trip to the 121 kilometer section of the Busheguf Sukachlas Deliya section of the Eastern Mining Railway Line to inspect the current construction status section by section. This section is constructed by a consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation. The main line is 121 kilometers long and adopts a double track design. The entire line requires the installation of 46 bridges and the opening of 10 tunnels. The project volume and technical difficulty should not be underestimated. Du Fei focused on studying specific measures to accelerate the construction progress on site, especially the special deployment of construction organization plans for large-scale engineering structures.

At the coordination meeting on August 23rd, the attitude of Chinese enterprises was clear: they will strictly adhere to the established construction period and fully implement the various instructions and requirements put forward by the minister during the inspection. Specific measures include synchronously increasing investment in construction equipment, engineering machinery, and operators, and concentrating efforts on tackling key structures such as bridges and tunnels. In addition, in response to the upcoming autumn and winter rainfall and low temperatures, Chinese enterprises have promised to strengthen the access roads to various construction sites in advance, improve traffic conditions, and minimize the impact of climate factors on continuous construction.

Accelerating the formation of the mining corridor

The strategic significance of the Eastern Mining Railway goes far beyond just a transportation line itself. Algeria has one of the world's top proven reserves of phosphate resources, but has long been constrained by logistics bottlenecks between inland mining areas and offshore ports, and its resource advantages have not been fully converted into economic benefits. After the completion of this railway, phosphate ore from Tebessa Province will be able to reach Annaba Port directly through the railway, and the improvement of transportation efficiency will directly reduce export costs, opening up greater international market space for Algeria's phosphate industry.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

From a broader perspective, this project is another landmark project of deep cooperation between China and Arab countries in the field of infrastructure. The bridge and tunnel construction experience and large-scale project management capabilities accumulated by Chinese enterprises in overseas railway construction are being centrally tested on this 422 kilometer line. With the increase of equipment, the deployment of manpower, and the continuous optimization of construction organization, this mining corridor is accelerating from blueprint to reality.Editor/Yang Meiling