Walking along the east-west expressway in Algeria -- witness the fruitful results of the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" between China and Algeria
From west to east, people can pick the freshest cherries in Tlemcen in the morning, then drive to Oran to see the street view, and then go to Algiers to experience the historical culture. Passing through the Eagle City of Constantine, they arrive at the eastern city of Annaba Port in the evening to taste the seafood salvaged that day——
The Algerian East West Expressway, constructed with the participation of Chinese enterprises, has a total length of 1216 kilometers and is the highest level of construction and most complex geological condition highway project in Algeria since its founding. Last August, with the completion of the final 84 kilometers of the eastern section of the expressway, the project was fully connected, linking 17 provinces in northern Algeria and serving as a major transportation artery in the region.
Recently, following the footsteps of Chinese builders, the reporter traveled 3000 kilometers from Tremson, the border town between Algeria and Morocco, in the west to Ramesug, the border town between Algeria and Tunisia, in the east, witnessing the fruitful results of the high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" between China and Algeria.
84 kilometer project in the eastern section——
Make farmers' pockets bulge
On the broad road next to the Atlas Mountains, vehicles kept coming and going. From time to time, white storks passed by the wetlands. This is a unique scenery at the easternmost end of the East West Expressway in Algeria.
Since 2006, the East West Expressway has been officially constructed in three sections: East, Central, and West. The consortium consisting of China CITIC Group Co., Ltd. and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited completed the 528 kilometer project in the central and western sections, while the eastern section, which was constructed by a consortium of enterprises from other countries, was not completed due to various reasons. In 2017, the Algerian government invited CITIC Construction to participate in the continued construction of the last 84 kilometers of the eastern section, increasing the total length of the road constructed by Chinese companies to 612 kilometers, accounting for more than half of the total length of the east-west expressway.
The construction of the last 84 kilometers in flood prone areas, humid areas, and mudstone is full of challenges. The chief engineer of the project, Ji Zongli, said, "Mud and limestone can form soil when exposed to wind and turn into mud when exposed to water, making it a 'disaster' for roadbed construction
The Chinese team cleverly utilized ultra large particle size stone materials to lay the bottom, combined with innovative large-diameter and wide distance rigid piles and other means, to limit the settlement of weak foundations and completely solve the problem. Nearly a hundred geological disasters such as landslides and collapses encountered during the construction process were effectively addressed through Chinese solutions such as drainage and gravity overlay. The highest filling height of 44.3 meters also set a record for the filling height of A Highway.
Due to a portion of the road passing through a local wetland conservation area, Chinese builders have protected the local ecological environment and biodiversity by adding animal specific passages, setting up multifunctional sedimentation tanks on both sides of the road, and implementing unified construction waste disposal.
The 84 kilometer section of the East West Expressway in Algeria is thriving with food and economic crops on the roadside.
According to Qi Shujie, the relevant person in charge of CITIC Construction in Algeria, CITIC Construction has undertaken more than one-third of the entire east-west expressway, including 359 kilometers of the western section and 84 kilometers of the eastern section. Enterprises actively fulfill their social responsibilities during the construction process, building roads for nearby villages, establishing a large-scale project management college and a national quality control center, providing free medical consultations for local residents, participating in flood control and disaster relief, assisting in forest firefighting, and building a bridge of people to people communication. It is reported that the project has trained over 16000 local infrastructure technicians.
After the completion of the entire East West Expressway, the travel time has been shortened from 3 days to 10 hours. Amin Boudebala, an official from the Algerian Ministry of Public Works, commented that "from west to east, people can pick the freshest cherries in Tlemcen in the morning, then drive to Oran to see the street view, and then go to Algiers to experience the history and culture. Passing through the Eagle City of Constantin, they arrive at the eastern city of Annaba Port in the evening to taste the seafood salvaged that day." The smooth logistics make it more convenient for various agricultural and sideline products to be transported to different places, allowing farmers to have their "pockets" bulging.
Skikda Oil and Gas Port Expansion Project——
Expand oil and gas transportation capacity
On the Mediterranean coast, there are gentle breezes. Starting from the berth of the Skikda Oil and Gas Port expansion project of China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Harbour") in Algeria, the tugboat gradually moved away from the coast, and the port with oil and gas pipelines gradually revealed its full picture.
The berths under construction at Skikda Oil and Gas Port in Algeria.
Skikda Port is one of the largest oil and gas ports in Algeria. In order to improve the level of port infrastructure construction and expand the transportation capacity of local oil and gas resources, the oil and gas port renovation and expansion project, which was contracted by China Harbour Engineering Group, officially started in 2019. At present, the construction of the port breakwater has been completed, the liquefied natural gas berth has completed berthing tests, and other construction projects are also nearing completion.
Hiring over 1000 local employees, organizing training for hundreds of professional technicians such as excavators, steel reinforcement workers, formwork workers, welders, and cultivating the use of 50 local management personnel... As the largest comprehensive port engineering project in the eastern region of Afghanistan in nearly 30 years, the oil and gas port expansion project not only provides a large number of job opportunities for the local area, but also cultivates numerous talents with experience and professional skills in water and chemical project management.
Joining the project has brought great changes to my life, "said Chalabi Elias, a driver who lives near the project. Three years ago, he chose to work on a project as soon as he graduated from university. Under the guidance of a crane operator from China, he quickly mastered the relevant skills and was able to work independently in six months. His father also works as an electrician in the project. After my father and I started working on the oil and gas port expansion project, our family's income significantly increased. More importantly, the technology and skills I have acquired here have laid a solid foundation for our future development, "said Elias.
In the opinion of Sami Kuazi, the relevant person in charge of the owner unit of the oil and gas port reconstruction and expansion project, the teams of both sides have established friendly cooperation and effectively promoted project construction. Tang Fengli, General Manager of the Oil and Gas Port Expansion Project Department, stated that China Harbour will strive to promote the smooth implementation of the project and strive for more cooperative projects to be implemented, contributing greater strength to the friendship between China and Arab countries.
350000 ton concrete grain silo construction project——
Assist in ensuring food security
From the Constantine exit of the east-west highway, a white building can be seen standing beside the road in the distance, with heavy trucks loaded with wheat constantly entering and exiting. This is Constantine Granary, one of the achievements of the construction project of a 350000 ton concrete granary in Algeria undertaken by a Chinese enterprise.
The Constantine grain warehouse in Algeria is currently loading grain onto trucks
As one of the world's major food importing countries, the grain silo project is a key project for Algeria that concerns national strategy and people's well-being. In 2013, China Electric Power Construction Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Electric Power Construction") undertook the construction project of a 350000 ton concrete grain silo. This is the first large-scale grain silo construction project launched by Algeria in over 40 years, distributed in 9 major grain producing areas of the country, all of which have been put into operation. All grain warehouses adopt Chinese design standards, construction techniques, and manufacturing equipment, and all technologies for grain storage, impurity removal, dehumidification, and warehouse transfer meet world-class process standards.
Entering the central control room on the third floor of the Constantine granary, electrical engineer Skandar Budaoud is operating a computer to carry out tasks such as wheat harvesting and grain release. I saw him lightly click the mouse, and the wheat was sent to the designated silo through the scraper and bucket elevator. There is an automatic grain outlet for cars and a hybrid automatic grain outlet for cars and trains here. once the grain transport vehicles are in place, they can be loaded with just one click. In Budaoud's view, the grain warehouses built by Chinese enterprises have strong storage capacity and efficient warehousing technology, with an hourly storage speed of about 3000 metric tons (1 metric ton equals 100 kilograms). The significance of the grain warehouse project is extraordinary, and it has made a huge contribution to Algeria's food security.
Zheng Zhiguo, the person in charge of the Constantine project of China Electric Power Construction, said that during the construction of the granary, more than 2000 job opportunities were provided for the local area, and hundreds of professional technical talents in the fields of granary construction and operation were trained, playing a positive role in ensuring local food security.
Beijia Connection Line Project——
Connect the economic branches of the northern region
The East West Expressway is the main artery that runs through northern Algeria, connecting major cities in the north in parallel with it as branch lines. Among the 23 branch highways designed by the Algerian government, the Beijia connecting line constructed by China Railway Construction International Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CRCC International") is the earliest to start construction and the fastest progressing branch highway to date.
At the construction site of the Beijia Connection Line on the East West Expressway in Algeria, construction workers from China and Algeria are tying up the steel cage of the bridge pile foundation.
The Bejaia Connection Line starts from the Bejaia Port in the Bejaia Province, which is the main port for crude oil exports and goods imports in Algeria, and is connected to the East West Expressway in the south. It has a total length of 100 kilometers and passes through 5 cities, of which 84 kilometers have been completed and opened to traffic. Bejaia Province is one of the most important economic provinces in Algeria, and the construction of high-grade highways will lay a solid foundation for its future economic development, "said Yuding Jian, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of China Railway Construction International.
Entering the Beijia Connection Line from the East West Expressway, the reporter found that although the traffic flow has decreased compared to the main line, the lane is still a two-way six lane specification. about half an hour later, drive off the highway and enter a mountain trail. The wheat waves roll and the hills undulate along the roadside. On the distant hillside stand abandoned stone walls, pillars, and beams. As you approach, you can also discover artifacts such as stone mills, stone troughs, and stone tables.
This is an ancient Roman town ruins, "said Wang Jinglian, the head of the North Africa regional company of Tiejian International. The Beijia connection line was originally designed to pass through mountains, but the company discovered the ruins during construction and immediately protected them. At the suggestion of the Chinese side, the direction of the Bejaia connection line has been readjusted. The ancient ruins record the development of a country's civilization and are also a precious heritage of human culture. Although the construction period has been extended and the cost has increased, we are pleased to make some contributions to the protection of local culture, "said Wang Jinglian. At the entrance of the hillside, there is a stone monument specially erected by the Algerian government a few years ago, introducing the relevant history of the site in Latin and Tifina script.
The car returned to the highway and a tunnel appeared in front of me. This is the controlling project of the Beijia Connection Line - Sidi Aisi Tunnel. Xiao Xuewang, the project leader of the Beijia Connection Line, introduced that the tunnel entrance is located on a loose landslide body, and the roof cover is very thin, with the thinnest part only 8 meters, and residential houses are built. For the first time in Algeria, the project applied the method of crossing and dividing large section tunnels into relatively independent small chambers for construction. Combined with the pre reinforcement of long pipe sheds, the construction risk was minimized. Last July, the tunnel was opened to traffic.
Algerian Minister of Public Works, Lakhdar Rahrukh, stated that the smooth opening of the Sidi Aish Tunnel has significantly alleviated the long-standing traffic congestion problem that has plagued residents in Bejaia Province and benefited surrounding provinces. The tunnel has been designated by the Algerian government as an engineering and technical training base. Teachers from several engineering colleges, including the National Higher School of Public Works, have led students to the site to learn about Chinese technology and experience.
A view of the East West Expressway in Algeria.
Today's east-west expressway is a road of transportation and tourism, a road of development and hope, creating more opportunities for local economic growth, providing a solid support for people's happiness, winning widespread praise from the local community, and becoming a good story of China Arab joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" with high quality.
