• Works on the Béchar–Tindouf–Gara Djebilet railway set to finish in 2025
• Project aims to develop Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit and ease transport flows
• Algeria’s rail network expected to expand to 6,500 km in coming months

Algeria’s Ministry of Public Works announced that construction of the Béchar–Tindouf–Gara Djebilet railway line should be completed before the end of the year. Minister Abdelkader Djellaoui made the statement after an inspection visit to the site over the weekend.

He said the Oued Dawra railway viaduct, one of the project’s main structures, will be finished by the end of October, while connecting tracks are making significant progress.

The project is designed mainly to support exploitation of the Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit. It is divided into three main sections: Béchar–Hammaguir (231 km), Tindouf–Oum Laâssel (175 km), and Hammaguir–Oum Laâssel–Tindouf–Gara Djebilet (575 km). The line is part of Algeria’s wider rail expansion program, which aims to extend the national network to 15,000 km by 2030.

The strategy is intended to create a dense rail grid across the country, shifting freight transport from roads to rail and easing the movement of agricultural, industrial, and mining production.

According to official figures, Algeria’s rail network totaled 1,000 km at independence in the 1960s, rising to 1,700 km by 2000. Expansion accelerated in recent years, reaching 4,722 km in 2023. The National Agency for the Study and Monitoring of Railway Investment Projects estimates the network will soon grow to 6,500 km.