Launched in 2013 in northern Algeria, the Bejaia highway project, also known as the A20 highway, is expected to be mostly finished in July, much to the delight of the residents of the Wilaya Region of Bejaia.  

It is a huge new engineering project under Sino-Algerian cooperation, connecting the seaside city of Bejaia to the East-West route over a distance of 100 km. The highway will save nearly 900,000 locals roughly two hours of travel time to the capital Algiers when it is completed.

Hillal Eddine Baghriche excitedly shared his story with China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), the Chinese construction group in charge of the construction of project, in the first-prize winning video of the 2021 China-Africa Video and Photo Competition.

Baghriche was born in El Kseur, a commune in the Wilaya Region of Bejaia. Previously, it took Baghriche and his neighbors four hours to get to Algiers via National Road 26, where traffic jams are a common occurrence. In 2017, after finishing his studies in civil engineering at the Abderrahmane Mira University in Bejaia, Baghriche heard from the family that a highway was being built by a Chinese company in his region. He wanted to contribute to the project with his specialization. So, he joined CRCC, like thousands of his compatriots.

Hillal Eddine Baghriche on the construction site of the Bejaia highway with a Chinese colleague from the CRCC

Since its inception, the project has gained widespread support and attention, especially from the Algerian Government. During the handover ceremony for the third stretch of the A20 highway in December 2020, Ahmed Maâbed, the Governor of Bejaia, spoke of the challenges faced by CRCC in completing the project, particularly the adverse geological conditions. Mohamed Hardi, Acting Director of Wilaya’s Public Works Office, praised the project’s quality, saying it “completely displayed” CRCC’s expertise.

Roughly 1.2 km of the river beach stretch has problems of low-strength, high-compression and loose soil foundations. In the face of difficulties, Baghriche and his colleagues used precast prestressed road pavements’ technology in the construction.

The Bejaia highway will allow local residents to save two hours of driving to the capital Algiers

Besides, the continuing pandemic has also had an impact on the project. Faced with the restrictions on the import of raw materials and the return of Chinese workers to Algeria, CRCC had to rely on its limited resources while employing Algerians to complete the project on time. The Chinese firm has established a pandemic prevention and control group since the outbreak of the pandemic, and no cases of infection have been detected among its ranks, either among Algerian or Chinese personnel.

Baghriche is confident that the opening of the new highway will result in better traffic flow and economic development along the route. “After the opening of this highway, my hometown will enter the fast lane of economic development. Industries will take off and many people will have better jobs. CRCC has improved the transportation in our area, and the lives of thousands of residents like me,” he said.