The highway constructed by Chinese enterprises can be considered a masterpiece in Algeria | East West | Masterpiece
Traveling east along the Algerian east-west highway, the road is lined with orange groves, vineyards, and pomegranate orchards, with white storks occasionally passing in front of the car. This modern expressway, which was completed and opened to traffic on July 5th, adds a unique brilliance to the beautiful Mediterranean scenery along the route.
The east-west expressway has a total length of 1216 kilometers and runs through the entire territory of Algeria. It is a major artery for domestic economic transportation in Algeria. More than one-third of the road section is constructed by CITIC Construction Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China CITIC Group. The last 84 km section of the east-west expressway extends eastward along the Atlas Mountains to the Tunisian border. The Governor of Tarif Province in Algeria, Hafshe Benaral, stated that the completion and opening of this section of road has broken the isolation of the eastern region and brought huge development prospects to the local area.
The Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea have created a unique landscape in Algeria. The complex terrain and landforms have made it a great challenge to build roads here. "The weak foundation and mudstone layers along the project are widely distributed, and the length of sections in flood prone and humid areas exceeds 1/4 of the total length of the line. Due to poor geological conditions, mudstone rocks are mixed in the filling materials. This type of rock becomes slag when blown by wind, and becomes sludge when exposed to water." Kafi, the director of the East Standard Bureau of the Algerian Highway Management Bureau, told reporters.
Many foreign companies choose to withdraw after obtaining preliminary geological exploration data, while others choose to give up after 8 years of construction. After years of suspension, the A Expressway Management Bureau found CITIC Construction. "The owner's initiative to hand over the project to us is a great trust in the Chinese builders," said Qi Shujie, Deputy General Manager of CITIC Construction Algeria.
Chinese builders have applied advanced technology and concepts to overcome problems such as over 40 meters of super high fill, over 80 landslides, landslides, and roadbed settlement. Not long ago, the intermittent rainstorm for more than a month affected the progress of the project, and many landslides increased the work amount. Local geological expert Mahmoud has evaluated that rainfall has caused deterioration of geological conditions, making it difficult for the project to be completed on schedule. But CITIC Construction employees worked overtime after the rain stopped, working day and night, and the project was finally completed as scheduled. The Algerian newspaper "Victory" published an article saying, "Referring to the current international technical specifications, considering the quality and accuracy of the project completion, this section of the highway constructed by Chinese enterprises can be considered a masterpiece."
Local employee Abao is the apprentice of Zhang Yong, the executive deputy manager of the project section. In 2008, Zhang Yong was sent by CITIC Construction to work in the West Section of the East West Expressway Project. In the same year, he also applied there after graduating from Abao University. This was how the master and apprentice met and worked together for a full 15 years.
"His name is Mohammed, and I gave him the name Abao. As soon as I got in touch with him, I thought he was a good material, intelligent, and eager to learn. He could be cultivated into a 'treasure' in our engineering projects," Zhang Yong said as he looked at his disciple with approval. For over a decade, Zhang Yong has been teaching each other, and Abao's business capabilities have been continuously improving. Now, Abao has become the backbone of the project, serving as the assistant project manager for the bidding section, and also taking on his apprenticeship.
"What Chinese companies have brought me is not only technological progress and improvement in life, but more importantly, a change in mindset." When talking about his gains, Abao sighed and said that the dedication spirit of Chinese employees in the process of fulfilling their duties is the most worth learning.
It is understood that during the participation of CITIC Construction in the construction of the East West Expressway, more than 200 local young engineers have been arranged to travel to China for engineering management training in three batches. At the construction site, pairing mentors and apprentices to impart skills and experience has become a routine training method. As of now, 16000 local technical and management talents have been trained.
Kafi said, "Chinese companies put our personnel on the front line for use and training, allowing them to learn technology and accumulate experience. They will be excellent engineers in Algeria. This is another contribution of Chinese companies to our construction industry."
