Constructing a Main Artery Reaching across the Country
This motorway is a major national project being undertaken by the Algerian government. Traversing the country, the motorway will stretch from the Tunisian border in the east to the Moroccan border in the west, for a total distance of 1,200 kilometers. The project has been divided into three parts: the eastern, central, and western lots. The Kajima-led Japanese consortium (COJAAL: Consortium Japonais Pour l'Autoroute Algérienne) won the contract for the eastern lot, which requires high technological capabilities, in an international competitive bidding process in September 2006. Consortiums of Chinese companies are doing the construction in the central and western lots.

At the moment, it takes about two or three days to drive from the Tunisian border to the Moroccan border, but once the motorway is completed, travel time will be drastically reduced. The route is expected to contribute greatly to the development of Algeria’s economy, serving as a major artery for traffic and distribution.

One of the Largest Infrastructure Projects Undertaken by Japanese Companies outside Japan
The length of the eastern lot where COJAAL is working is 400 kilometers. COJAAL will build a six-lane motorway with three lanes on each side. The construction will include 43 bridges on the main route and three tunnels, and the entire project period is 40 months including survey, design and construction. It is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever to be undertaken by Japanese companies outside of Japan. The amount of earth to be moved during the construction is estimated to reach about 110 million cubic meters, and the amount of concrete to be required is about 1.93 million cubic meters. Since Algeria is prone to earthquakes, the Algerian government acclaimed the proposal’s earthquake-resistant design technology. It also recognized the proposed global positioning system (GPS) techniques and other IT Earthwork Control Systems when awarding the contract to COJAAL.

The eastern lot is divided into seven sections along the construction route, and each section has its own camp. Construction is taking place simultaneously in all seven sections. The COJAAL Headquarters, which is in Constantine, located in the center of the eastern lot, is coordinating all the sections. In addition to the camps, an office that serves as a liaison with the Headquarters and the project owner has been established in the capital city of Algiers.

In the entire eastern lot there are 660 staff including about 90 Kajima employees dispatched from Japan. The construction workers consist of 10,500 Algerians and 6,000 workers from other countries including Southeast Asia. On the other hand, most of the 5,000 pieces of heavy equipment and machinery were brought in from Japan.