• Algeria’s Annaba port expansion due for completion by end-2026
• Project adds 10 million-tonne mineral quay linked to phosphate rail line
• Upgrade supports export diversification beyond hydrocarbons

Works to expand the port of Annaba is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb said during an inspection visit last weekend.

Launched in April 2024, the project includes the construction of a 1,600-metre mineral quay with a depth of 16 metres, enabling large vessels to dock and handle up to 10 million tonnes a year of phosphate and related products transported via the eastern mining railway.

The rail link connecting the Bled El-Hadba phosphate mine in Tebessa to the port of Annaba is expected to cut export transport costs, improve the profitability of Algeria’s phosphate value chain and boost the competitiveness of its exports on international markets, the government said.

The project is one of Algeria’s flagship port infrastructure developments and forms part of a broader strategy to diversify the economy by increasing non-hydrocarbon exports and reducing dependence on oil revenues. Algeria is targeting $13 billion in non-hydrocarbon exports by 2030, nearly double the $7 billion recorded in 2023.

Henoc Dossa