Algeria – Laghouat–Ghardaïa–El Meniaa Railway Construction Project (495 km) – Phase II

The Laghouat–Ghardaïa–El Meniaa Railway Construction Project – Second Tranche is a sovereign transport infrastructure project in Algeria forming part of a wider 495 km railway programme linking Laghouat, Ghardaïa and El Meniaa. The overall project comprises the 265 km Laghouat–Ghardaïa section, financed under the first tranche, and the 230 km Ghardaïa–El Meniaa section, covered by the present second tranche. The line is a strategic component of Algeria’s planned north–south railway axis between Algiers and Tamanrasset, and ultimately of the trans-African Algiers–Lagos Corridor. The second tranche will finance the construction and equipment of the Ghardaïa–El Meniaa railway section, including railway tracks, passenger stations, logistics facilities, signalling systems, climate-resilient protection works and the acquisition of rolling stock. It also includes land acquisition and right-of-way clearance, supervision of works, integrated socioeconomic facilities, local economic development activities, and vocational training for young people and women in railway trades, logistics, tourism and handicrafts. Institutional support will be provided to the National Agency for Studies and Monitoring of Railway Investments (ANESRIF), while the completed infrastructure will ultimately be operated and maintained by the National Railway Transport Company (SNTF). The total cost of the full 495 km project is estimated at USD 2,929.51 million. The second tranche is estimated at USD 1,175.15 million, financed by an African Development Bank loan of USD 878.09 million, an expected Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank loan of USD 275.50 million, and a Government of Algeria contribution of USD 21.56 million. The implementing agency is the Ministry of Public Works and Basic Infrastructure through ANESRIF.