Minister of Public Works and Basic Infrastructure Abdelkader Djellaoui emphasized the imperative to accelerate the pace of construction on the Eastern mining railway line and complete final operations across three specific sections, enabling technical train trials over a total distance of 127 kilometers during the first week of upcoming October.
Following the Council of Ministers meeting where President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune stressed the necessity of adhering to completion deadlines, the coordination session chaired Monday by the Minister of Public Works served as a status update on the progress of the 422-kilometer Eastern mining line connecting Annaba, Souk Ahras, Tebessa, Djebel El-Onk, and Bled El-Hadba.
The minister insisted on stepping up the pace of work and finishing final touch-ups on three key segments to facilitate technical train trials across 127 kilometers in early October. These priority stretches include the 54-kilometer Annaba–Bouchegouf section, the 43-kilometer Tebessa–Tinoukla bypass section, and the 30-kilometer Drea–Oued Kebrit section.
Briefings presented during the session outlined progress across various segments whose core components are entering final stages, according to a ministry statement. The meeting brought together central ministry executives alongside chief executive officers and general managers of execution firms and engineering consultancies. Participants included the National Agency for Design and Follow-up of Railway Investment Realization (Anesrif) acting as delegated project owner, its project managers, and contractors including Cosider TP, Cosider OA, GCB, Infra Rail, Infra Fer, Serror, Engoa, Eguva, Sapta, Sero Est, and Seti Rail.
The session also evaluated progress on national company contracts along the 72-kilometer Bouchegouf–Ain Essennour stretch. The minister instructed teams to mobilize all available resources and reinforce job sites to expedite execution and deliver within allocated timelines.
Progress on modernizing the 34-kilometer rail link between Ain Essennour and Drea was similarly reviewed. The minister directed contractor firms and project managers to tighten field coordination and monitoring to accelerate progress and complete the section on schedule.
Strict adherence to execution deadlines across ongoing railway projects remains a top government priority, following discussions during Saturday’s Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the President of the Republic.
President Tebboune, noting that the railway line connecting Tamanrasset to northern regions represents an unprecedented historic achievement for a victorious Algeria, insisted on ensuring delivery within designated timelines. He emphasized that the strategic line linking northern Algeria to Tamanrasset via Laghouat, Ghardaia, El-Meniaa, and In Salah stands as an absolute priority, urging concentrated efforts to guarantee its delivery and commissioning by late 2028.
Regarding the Bled El-Hadba–Oued Kebrit–Annaba Port mining rail line, the President commended the current pace of work aiming for on-time delivery and the launch of production activities in March 2027.