Transportation

Overview

Since independence in 1962, Algeria’s transportation system has been neglected. The country has a very limited road system and an antiquated rail network that is oriented more toward cargo than passenger traffic. Port activity revolves around the export of hydrocarbons. A state-owned airline faces diminished private competition. Algeria’s telecommunications system is also underdeveloped, particularly in rural areas.

Roads

Algeria has 104,000 kilometers of roads, two-thirds of which, or 71,656 kilometers, are paved. About 640 kilometers are regarded as expressways.

Railroads

Algerian National Railways (Société Nationale des Transports Ferroviaires—SNTF) manages Algeria’s 4,200-kilometer rail network, which suffers from mostly antiquated rolling stock and poor signaling equipment. In 2001 SNTF purchased 15 new locomotives from General Motors. At most 300 kilometers of broad-gauge track, dedicated to cargo traffic between iron-ore mines and the port of Annaba, are electrified. Rail lines service Algiers, major cities along the Mediterranean coast, and the border with Tunisia. Terrorism against the rail system led to a decline in the number of passengers carried, the distance traveled by passengers, and the amount of freight carried during the late 1990s. In Algiers a 26.5-kilometer metro line has been under construction since 1991 and is scheduled to open beginning in 2008.

Ports

Algeria has the following Mediterranean ports: Algiers, Annaba, Arzew, Bejaïa, Djendjene, Jijel, Mostaganem, Oran, and Skikda. The busiest port by far is Arzew, which handles about 40 million tons of cargo annually and is responsible for the largest share of Algerian crude oil exports; Skikda has the second largest share. Algiers, Annaba, Oran, and Bejaïa also handle crude oil exports. Algeria plans to expand the petrochemical facilities at Arzew.

Inland Waterways

Algeria has no navigable inland waterways.

Civil Aviation and Airports

Algeria has 124 airports, of which 53 have permanent surfaces. The country’s principal international airport is Algiers Houari Boumediene International Airport, with an annual capacity of 2 million passengers. In early 2006, the new Algeria International Airport is scheduled to open in Algiers with three times the capacity of the existing airport. Services will be transferred to the new facility by mid-2006. Algeria’s primary airline is state-owned Air Algérie, which dominates the sector in spite of competition from eight private airlines, notably including Khalifa Airways. However, in 2003 Khalifa Airways began to experience severe financial difficulties.

Pipelines

The state-owned Algerian oil company, Sonatrach, manages more than 2,400 kilometers of crude oil pipelines. The longest pipeline carries oil 805 kilometers from the Hassi Messaoud oil field to the port of Arzew. Sonatrach is building a parallel pipeline to more than double capacity. The only oil pipeline that crosses into another country runs 257 kilometers from the In Amenas oil field to the Tunisian export terminal at La Skhira. A network of natural gas pipelines emanates from the Hassi R’Mel natural gas field. Two pipelines carry natural gas from Algeria to Europe: the 1,078-kilometer Trans-Mediterranean pipeline to Italy and the 1,609-kilometer Maghreb-Europe Gas pipeline to Spain. Additional natural gas pipelines to Europe are planned.

Source: Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile