Béchar, Algeria – In a major milestone for Algeria and the continent, the first 100-kilometre segment of the Béchar–Tindouf–Gara Djebilet railway line has been officially inaugurated. Connecting Béchar to Abadla, this marks the initial phase of a 950-kilometre megaproject: the Western Mining Railway Line.
Set to be fully operational by year-end, the line represents Algeria’s largest railway project to date and one of Africa’s most advanced rail engineering feats. It is designed to serve the strategic Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit in the southwest, significantly enhancing mineral transport to processing facilities and export terminals in the north.
Remarkably, the first section was completed in under 18 months, a pace described by officials as an “engineering miracle”. The project is being executed to the highest technical standards by a consortium of Algerian public companies, in collaboration with a major Chinese partner contributing advanced global expertise.
Once fully operational, the railway will transport up to 50 million tonnes of raw and processed minerals annually. This high-capacity corridor is expected to revitalise Algeria’s iron manufacturing industry and catalyse broader industrial development across the region.
