On 1 February 2026, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated the 950 km Béchar–Tindouf–Gara Djebilet railway, a strategic heavy-haul corridor built in collaboration with China to enable exploitation of the vast Gara Djebilet iron ore deposits in western Algeria. Constructed by Algerian state firms alongside China Rail Construction Corp., the line connects the desert mining zone near the Moroccan border with Tindouf and Béchar, where it links to the existing rail network toward the Mediterranean port of Oran. Designed for an axle load of 32.5 tonnes, the corridor includes the 4.111 km Oued Dawra viaduct, the longest railway bridge in Africa. The inauguration gives the green light for initial ore shipments, with Algeria’s state miner subsidiary Feraal, China’s Sinosteel, and downstream industrial partners such as Turkey’s Tosyali Holding involved in the broader value chain.
The railway represents a structural shift in Algeria’s economic model, supporting efforts to diversify away from hydrocarbons, which account for more than three-quarters of exports. By integrating inland mining assets with coastal industrial facilities and export terminals, the corridor establishes a scalable logistics backbone for bulk mineral flows toward the Mediterranean.
Strategically, the project strengthens Algeria’s positioning in global iron ore markets while embedding rail as the primary logistics mode for large-volume extraction. For regional trade flows, this deepens North Africa’s bulk export capacity and signals growing Chinese industrial participation in heavy infrastructure across the Maghreb.
Official Source: Algeria Press Service
About InfraIndex. InfraIndex highlights the most significant global infrastructure developments, selected for their strategic importance, infrastructure scope, news relevance, and analytical value, and systematically tracked in the InfraMonitor™ database, available exclusively to InfraEconomy Group clients. Join our client network.