Algeria inaugurated a desert railway line of almost 1,000 kilometers (km) or 621 miles to transport iron ore mining results.
Citing AFP, this line will carry iron ore from the Gara Djebilet deposit in the south to the city of Bechar, located 950 kilometers to the north, which will then be transported to a steel production plant near Oran in the north.
The project is funded by the Algerian state and partly built by a Chinese consortium.
During the inauguration, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune who was present described it as "one of the largest strategic projects in the history of independent Algeria."
This project aims to increase Algeria's iron ore extraction capacity, as the country aspires to become one of Africa's leading steel producers.
According to experts, iron ore deposits are also seen as a key driver of Algeria's economic diversification as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons.
At the inauguration ceremony in Bechar on Sunday, January 1, Tebboune also welcomed the first passenger train from Tindouf in southern Algeria and sent the first shipment of iron ore to the north.
The mine is expected to produce 4 million tonnes a year during the initial phase, with production projected to triple to 12 million tonnes a year by 2030, according to estimates from state-owned Feraal Group, which manages the site.
"Then it is estimated that it will reach 50 million tons per year in the long term," he said.
According to Algerian media, the start of operations at the mine will allow Algeria to drastically reduce its iron ore imports and save USD1.2 billion per year.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
