As work on Algeria's East-West Highway nears completion, the government has turned its attention to the next phase of its programme to strengthen national transport infrastructure - the improvement of urban and provincial road networks nationwide to ease congestion and improve end-user distribution services.
Benefitting from an AD60bn (€610m) outlay in the current 2010-14 national investment plan, Algeria has outlined an ambitious infrastructure plan that aims to create an extensive network of national highways and provincial roads by 2025.
The priorities for the 2005-25 Strategic Plan for Road and Highway Development are two main axes, the East-West Highway in the north and the Hauts Plateaux Ring Road, which follows a similar east-west path farther south. The completion of the East-West Highway is the first major step toward these goals. The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) said the highway was 96% complete as of the end of 2011, with a few sections of uneven terrain in Skikda, Constantine and El Tar - all located in the eastern part of the country - still needing to be finished. The state is in the process of awarding contracts for the construction of remaining support infrastructure, including tollbooths, rest stops and service stations, and the project will likely be finished by the end of this year.
The second major pillar of the strategic plan, the Hauts Plateaux Ring Road, is currently in the final stages of technical study, and the MPW expects construction to begin this year as well. The 1020-km road will run roughly parallel to the East-West Highway farther to the south, linking the town of El Aricha, south of Tlemcen, to Bouchebka, near the border with Tunisia.
The road, with two lanes in each direction and the possibility of expanding to three, will not only provide a second major east-west connection, but will speed up access to bypass (north-south) roads, thereby increasing more isolated provinces' access to coastal areas.
Indeed, while the virtually finished East-West Highway offers a much-needed thoroughfare across the country, it is the public roadworks slated for 2012 that offer some of the greatest potential to dramatically boost domestic connectivity. A series of 10 north-south connector roads will provide access to these main arteries from underserved areas in the interior, through a series of interchanges and access roads.
Feasibility studies are already underway on some of the links, such as the planned connector to the port city of Ténès (Chlef) and the provincial capital of Tissemsilt, 220 km to the southeast.
The proposal is for a two-lane express road, with access to the East-West Highway in Ténès and to the future Hauts-Plateaux ring road in Tissemsilt. The MPW classed this as a "highly strategic" project, due to its potential to help open up the Chlef province and capitalise on the commercial potential of the port of Ténès. Similar projects are being evaluated in several provinces to link the northern regions with the Hauts Plateaux.
Maintenance is also a major focus and the MPW also outlined a programme to repair 1000 km of the national road network in 2012, representing a total investment of AD12bn (€121.7m). Nasser Mekhilef, the director of road repair and usage at the MPW, said the programme will provide better signage, install crash barriers, aim to eliminate dangerous points where the highest accident rates are observed and repair roads affected by this year's extreme winter weather. The initiative is currently in the planning and study phase, and work is expected to begin in early summer.
Overall, the potential economic impact of the recent and planned investments into the country's road infrastructure is considerable. The new East-West Highway cuts a 1270-km path near the Mediterranean coast, providing a crucial link between the city of Tlemcen, close to the Moroccan border, and El Tarf in the west. Most importantly, the highway connects 18 provinces in northern and coastal areas - the most fertile and economically productive region. The industry, agriculture, tourism and oil and gas exportation sectors all stand to benefit from easing traffic congestion in urban centres and extending efficient transport links into rural areas.
The East-West highway also has important implications for regional integration among the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), which includes Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania. The highway will fit into the broader Trans-Maghreb Highway, which stretches 7000 km north from Nouakchott to Rabat, and then east to Tripoli.
Improving transport efficiency would provide a helpful tool for increasing inter-Maghreb economic exchange, as well as tourism. Due to North African countries' orientation toward European markets dating back to the colonial period, regional trade remains low. However, while trade with other UMA member states only represented 3.5% of Algeria's total in 2011, its volume expanded by 18% year-on-year to reach $2.16bn, indicating potential for growth in this area.
While much work remains to be done, Algeria's plans to strengthen the national road network and increase connections to the sub-region bode well for transport efficiency and economic growth in the future.
© Oxford Business Group 2012
