FCC awarded contract to build railway in Algeria worth almost 1 billion euro

FCC in a joint venture with Algerian company ETRHB Haddad, has been awarded a contract to build a 185-km long railway line running west of the capital city, Algiers, and connecting the towns of Relizane, Tiaret and Tissemsilt.

The contract, awarded by the Transport Ministry via ANESRIF (National Agency of Studies and of Follow-up of the Realization of the Railway Investment), is part of the 2009-2014 economic development programme promoted by Algeria's President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The programme has a budget of 114 billion euro, a large part of which is aimed at infrastructure construction.

Technical details: The new line will have a single high-performance track which allows for a maximum speed of 160 km/h, divided into two sections: Relizane-Tiaret, measuring 121.1 km, in very rugged terrain where the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) will be used to build five tunnels; and Tiaret-Tissemsilt, measuring 64.2 km.  The project includes the construction of seven passenger stations, five junctions, seven maintenance buildings along the length of the railway, and renovation work on existing stations in Relizane and Tissemsilt. The line will be electrified in the future.

FCC’s global expansion: This new contract strengthens the international expansion of FCC's Infrastructure division (construction and concessions). Currently, 44% of FCC’s revenues come from outside Spain (54% in the Construction division).  Mr. Baldomero Falcones, Chairman and Chief Executive of Grupo FCC, said:  “Algeria has become a very important market for us.  The railway project there is further proof of FCC’s growing global reach and reinforces our commitment to be a major player in the development of the infrastructure in Algeria. This prestigious contract sits alongside prominent FCC rail projects around the world including: the Singapore Metro; a New Delhi metro link and railway infrastructure for the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland."