A new center transshipment port will soon be built in Cherchell, as China and Algeria have signed a $3.3-billion deal on Sunday, Jan. 17, the Global Times reported.
The report said the agreement was signed by Algeria's Transport Ministry, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corp. (CSCEC).
Under the deal, a consortium company will be established to build the port, some 60 kilometers west of Algiers, the country's capital. The report said that the establishment of the consortium is expected to be finalized in March.
According to Algeria's Transport Ministry, the port will have 23 docks that can process 6.5 million 20-foot containers and 26 million tons of goods per year. The ministry said that port traffic in the country's central region is expected to hit 35 million tons or 2 million 20-foot containers per year by 2050.
The report said that the project is expected to be completed within seven years and gradually put into service within four years, to be managed by the Shanghai Ports Group.
The Shanghai Port Group "would help driving international shipment traffic coming from Southeast Asia and other continents to pass from this Center Port, under the transshipment process to continue sea transport to elsewhere, or use the Algerian highway and railway networks to carry shipments to Africa," Algerian Transport Minister Boudjemaa Talai said.
Wen Jingfei, CHEC representative, told Xinhua during the signing ceremony that the project would benefit Algeria as well as the Mediterranean region and Africa.
Wen added that for a long time, the Algerian government has wanted to build this mega Central Harbor and it has positioned itself as a transit port in the Mediterranean area that will provide service to North Africa and Europe.
Mali and Algeria's other neighbors are seen to benefit from the port, the CHEC representative said.
Zhou Sheng, the CSCEC representative, added that the deal will help Algeria, which is having a difficult period.