Algeria approves US $3.3 billion El Hamdania port construction

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Construction work on El Hamdania port in Algeria has received a green light after the government approved construction of the a new deepwater port. The US$3.3B project, which envisages a task for an overseas partner, will be executed in two stages.

The port will be situated close to the town of Cherchell, in Tipaza province, some 80 km west of Algiers.

This is a natural sheltered bay and provides a draught of up to 20m.
El Hamdania is also a chosen industrial development centre, with present connections to the national highway network and to a local power station.

Also read:China to construct mega sea port in Algeria

Plans visualize construction of up to 23 berths, bestowing the port a combined capacity of 25.7 Mtpa.

South Korea-based Yuhill-Yooshin and Algeria’s Laboratoire des etudes maritimes (LEM) finished a comprehensive plan at the end of December, and the project has now secured US $900m worth of funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), enabling the project to go on. The AfDB loan will be reimbursed 20 years, with five years’ grace.

El Hamdania, which is situated 70km west of Algiers, is to be developed in stages with ultimate yearly handling capacity of 6.3m, spread over 23 berths. TEU measures a ship’s cargo carrying capacity, and the measurement is equal to 20 feet in length and 8 feet in height.

This would categorize it second in Africa, after Tanger Med’s 9m TEU per year.
The port is to be developed by China Harbour Engineering Company and China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which will take a combined 49% stake in the operating company, with the Algerian Port Authority taking 51%.

It has been stated in Algiers that a conglomerate of Chinese banks are to offer additional funding, although they have not yet been named. Still, the involvement of Chinese firms in the plan shows that Chinese funding is probable.

Construction work is due to start in March this year, with the first berths planned for completion in 2021