PORTS
Algeria stretches for 1,622 km along the coastline including eleven commercial ports, namely:
- Three oil ports: Arzew, Skikda and Bejaia ports.
- Three main multifunctional ports: Algiers, Oran and Annaba ports.
- Two medium ports: Djen Djen and Mostaganem ports.
- Three small ports: Ghazaouet, Dellys and Ténès ports.
Shipping traffic:
Algeria’s trades take place by sea through the eleven commercial ports located in Algiers, Annaba, Oran, Arzew, Mostaganem, Ghazaouet, Bejaïa, Jijel and Skikda.
In Algeria, there is no Short Sea Shipping for goods, except for oil and petroleum products, neither Short Sea Shipping for passengers, despite some short-term attempts and unfinished projects.
Oil is the main commodity. However, merchant shipping has increased remarkably but less than for hydrocarbons.
The Algerian market opening in the early 1990s resulted in speeded up growth of unloaded goods and a very high increase in trade, particularly imports.
ALGERIAN NATIONAL NAVIGATION COMPANY/ Compagnie Nationale Algérienne de Navigation (CNAN)
Created in 1964, the Algerian National Navigation Company (CNAN), has the monopoly of the sea transport and ensures goods, passengers, and hydrocarbons shipping, as well as tow, harbour handling, shipping consignment and ship refuelling, etc.). At that time, ports were managed by a single State agency: the National Ports Office/Office National des Ports (ONP).
In the mid-1980s, CNAN was divided into three companies:
- Société nationale de Transport Maritime (National Sea Transport Corporation) (SNTM/CNAN) responsible for the transport of goods.
- Entreprise Nationale de Transport Maritime de Voyageurs (ENTMV) (National Company of Maritime Transport of Travelers), created on 14 July 1987, in charge of the see transport of passengers and vehicles called later Algérie Ferries.
- Société nationale de Transport Maritime des Hydrocarbures et Produits Chimiques (SNTM/Hyproc), which is responsible for hydrocarbons and chemicals shipping.
The Algerian National Navigation Company (CNAN) and Algérie Ferries are active in sea transport in Algeria. Several ferries take passengers across and to European coasts.
Algeria has several port facilities, namely:
Port of Algiers, port of Bejaia, port of Arzew, port of Skikda, port of Annaba, port of Djen Djen and port of Mostaganem.
National Maritime Signalling Office:
The National Maritime Signalling Office (ONSM) is a public administrative institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works, created on 25 August 1985.
The Office is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of marine navigational aid systems with land-based infrastructure (such as lighthouses, harbour lights and electrical signal stations) and floating markers (such as buoys).
The considerable development of Algeria’s social, economic and commercial relations with its foreign partners and the globalization effects have led to a surge in shipping traffic. Traffic backed up by a continuous and rapid evolution of maritime techniques and navigational aid systems.
That is why the current maritime signalling of Algeria is required to:
- Fall into line with international standards and regulations (e.g., SOLAS 2002 Agreement).
- Have modern management tools.
- Faithfully represent the navigator’s concerns.
- Establish its development prospects through programming feasible measures in the short and medium term, within a rational framework.
Description of the Ports of Algeria:
Port of Algiers:
It covers a total area of 126 hectares in the western part of Algiers Bay. It enjoys a privileged geographical position in the Mediterranean basin and on a national scale. It is the first commercial port in Algeria.
The port of Algiers is composed of three zones, intended for various goods. The storage area covers 282,000 m2 (24% of the total surface area), which corresponds to a theoretical capacity of 120,000 tons.
It should be noted that an average of 800,000 tons of goods are unloaded monthly.
Port of Bejaïa
In 2006, the management of the port of Bejaïa was entrusted to the Singaporean company Protek International, for a period of 20 years, after having created the joint venture Béjaïa Mediterranean Terminal (BMT) where the Port is shareholder at 51%. BMT is chiefly in charge of managing and operating the container terminal.
For this purpose, it is equipped with high-performance equipment to offer quality, efficient and reliable services.
The radical modernization of Bejaïa’s container terminal encourages the port to integrate the classification of the most competitive Mediterranean ports, treating on average 25 containers per hour, against 8 to 10 for the other Algerian ports.
This progress has enabled Bejaïa to be selected for the European project "Motorways of the Sea", giving it the uncontested rank of national leader in terms of efficiency and quality of services.
The new BMT terminal performance attracts more and more economic operators. Thanks to its logistic performances, the port of Béjaïa has thus entered in competition with the port of Algiers since 2010.
Port of Arzew
It is located 41 km north-east of Oran, on a total central reservation area of 23 ha and covered area of 1 ha. It is the first Algerian port specialized in oil traffic.
Port of Skikda:
It is a commercial harbour with two ports:
- The old port, covering an area of 35 hectares, intended for goods traffic reaching 4,500,000 tons per year.
- The new port for petroleum products.
The port of Skikda has:
- a 1,200-passenger marine station.
- a 500-vehicle marine terminal.
- a wharf with a capacity of 23 million tons of oil.
- a wharf with a capacity of 3.7 million tons of cargo and 132,000 containers.
Port of Annaba:
The port of Annaba is one of the ten main commercial ports in Algeria.
It stretches for a total central reservation area of 82 ha and covered area of 7 ha. It is located at the intersection of major road and rail networks enabling it to optimize its mission. The port has been managed since 1988 by Enterprise Portuaire, an economic public company.
Port of Djen Djen:
The port of Djen Djen, which was completed in 1992, is a deep-water port. It has the highest capacity in the country. It has a capacity of 2 million TEUs (twenty-feet equivalent unit). It is close to Jijel International Airport and a train station, which makes a multimodal hub for the exchange of goods and passengers.
A railway line connects it to the El Milia steel complex. The port will be connected to the East-West motorway after completion of the express way linking the port to the El Eulma interchange in the province of Sétif. This port is one of the most important in the Mediterranean basin and in Africa.
It includes:
- a 770-meter-long cargo dock.
- a 250-meter-long, 2-million-ton-TEU mixed container and vehicle dock.
- a 1060-meter-long bulk and grain (ex-steel) dock.
Port of Mostaganem:
It is located near the first gas and oil hub of Arzew. It is the shortest route for the transport of goods to the oil and gas regions of Hassi-Messaoud, Hassi-R'mel, Hassi-Berkine and Haoud-El-Hamra.
Located in an agricultural zone, it is surrounded by 12 provinces located in the north and south of the country, representing a quarter of all the administrative districts of Algeria and a third of the country's surface area.
The port is in the Gulf of Arzew and has an area of 68 ha and two basins. The uncovered central reservation areas are 69,000 m² including 65,000 m² for commercial use. The covered areas concern 16 store-docks estimated at 8,950 m² including 5,950 m² for commercial use.
It serves 4,805 m of road (existing service routes). Docks and central reservations are served by a renovated 3,747 m railway network connected to the station.
AIRPORTS
Algeria has developed its air transport sector to make it genuine means of integration at regional and international level. A budget of 60 billion dinars (600 million euros) was dedicated to renewing the fleet of Air Algérie during the period 2013-2017.
Algeria has 35 airports, including 13 international airports. The most important is Algiers airport with a capacity of more than 6 million passengers per year.
Airlines:
The national airline “Air Algérie” dominates the air transport market, which has 8 other private companies since its opening to competition.
It has several lines to Europe, Africa, Canada, China, the Middle East.
During the summer season, Air Algérie records a growth rate of 15% in its overall traffic compared to the rest of the year.
Several foreign airlines operate flights with Algeria, namely:
Tunis Air, Royal Air Maroc, Air France, Alitalia, ASL, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airways, etc...
Since October 2011, the Ministry of Transport has authorized the Algerian airline Tassili Airlines, a subsidiary of the oil company SONATRACH, to carry out flights for the general public, in addition to its regular domestic flights that ensure the transport of workers to the Algerian oil and gas fields.
Sharing
The railway network has progressed considerably since the country's independence. It experienced decommissioning of sections, construction of new lines, doubling up lanes and electrification of certain sections. The railway network, 4,498 km long, is managed and operated by Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires (SNTF).
After the restructuring of the SNTF in 1976, a new investment program enabled the completion of 203 km of new lines, the doubling up of 200 km of lanes on the northern ring road and the renewal of 1,400 km of lanes and ballasts.
In 2005, National Agency for the Study and Monitoring of Railway Investment Achievement (ANESRIF) was created to manage a new public investment program to increase the railway network to 12,500 km in 2025.
The 4,498 km long railway network covers the north of Algeria. It has more than 200 stations. Algeria's railway network is the second largest on the African continent.
In 2010, 315 km of new roads were opened (Bordj Bou Arreridj in M'sila, Aïn Touta in M'sila, new rail line of Béchar), and the suburban lines of Algiers were electrified.
In 2015, a program of 2,300 km of new lines was carried out and concerns mainly the western part of the highland plateau.
In 2018, GSM-R rail telecommunications system was first introduced in Africa. This telecommunication system is designed to secure communications on a stand-alone network between the Algiers-based centre and trains, as well as between trains and operators responsible for maintaining the network.
In 2019, the new line between Algiers and Touggourt was commissioned. It is served by a long-distance train offering 1st and 2nd class berths.
Signalling and speed control:
Algerian railway signalling uses several signalling systems, such as light signals placed on the lane edge where stopping distance devices are located (manual block system, automatic light block signal, automatic restraint permissive signals). The train speed is controlled by marker speed control system (KVB).
In future, the main lines and some important freight axes will be equipped with ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) signalling.
High-Speed Railways:
One of the main projects is the high-speed line to connect the city of Oran to the Algerian Moroccan border, passing through Sidi-Bel-Abbès, Tlemcen and Maghnia, over nearly 200 km, with an operating speed of 220km/h (mountainous area). This project would logically become one of the links of the trans-Maghreb railway line in the future.
The second large-scale project under consideration is the high-speed line linking Annaba and Tabarka (northern Tunisia). It would become the last section of the trans-Maghreb route.
Finally, the splitting of Algiers - Tizi-Ouzou line (operational between Algiers and Ténia in the wilaya de Boumerdes) is being carried out.
Rolling stock:
Société Nationale des Transports Trains (SNTF) has a wide variety of rolling stock, namely: electric locomotives, diesel locomotives, tractors, railcars, self-operating vehicles, passenger cars, etc.
In 2018, SNTF's fleet consisted of 258-line vehicles, 47 switching locomotives, 380 passenger cars, 10,129 cars of all types, 17 hydraulic diesel cars and 64 Stadler Flirt single-phase electric 25-Kv/AC cars.
To boost long-distance passenger activity, SNTF has acquired 17 two-mode Coradia Polyvalent trains adapted to the Algerian climate. They operate on the long-distance Algiers-Oran and Algiers-Annaba routes.
Freight:
SNTF provides 5% of the road freight transport market in Algeria. SNTF targets aim to reach 17%, with Bellara's major industrial projects and phosphate processing.
In 2019, 6 trains transport minerals to El Hadjar steel complex (iron) and to the port of Oran (phosphate).
Sharing
- Carry out design, feasibility, pre-project, and implementation studies.
- Observe compliance with technical rules and standards for design, construction, maintenance, and development of motorway infrastructure.
- Quality control of signalling and equipment running of sections of motorways and their annexes.
- Training and development of infrastructure personnel.
- West part: from El Aricha to Tiaret, passing through Saïda for 305 km.
- Center part: from Tiaret to Batna, passing through Boughezoul and M'sila for 495 km.
- East part: from Batna to Tébessa, passing through Khenchela for 220 km.
Sharing
