The Transport Ministry of Algeria, China’s Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and the Chinese State Construction Engineering Corporation has inked a US$3.3 billion deal to construct a new transhipment hub – the Port of Cherchell – near the capital of Algiers in Algeria, which will be managed by the Shanghai Ports Group, according to Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua.
The port will have an annual capacity of 6.5 million TEU.
Boudjemaa Talai, Transport Minister for Algeria, said that bringing in Shanghai Port Group “…would help drive international shipment traffic coming from the Southeast Asia and other continents to pass from this Center Port, under transhipment process to continue sea transport to elsewhere, or use the Algerian highway and railway networks to carry shipments to Africa.”
Wen Jingfei, a representative of CHEC believes that the new project will be essential for the development of Africa and the Mediterranean region.
Zhou Sheng, a representative CSCEC, said: “The Algerian government selected Chinese companies to build this project regarding the traditional friendship between the two nations and strong bilateral relationship in political, economic and cultural fields.”
The port is presumably the latest bid to strengthen China’s presence within the One Belt, One Road project, which aims to create a maritime gateway between Europe, Asia and Africa.
