Algiers, 12 January 2023 (TDI): African Unity Road, spanning 5,000 km and connecting seven nations, is being built by Algeria. It is one of the continent’s prime road projects.
It connects Algeria with Tunisia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad. This road is also known as the Trans-Sahara Highway.
This region of the continent is rich in natural resources, including the Lake Chad fisheries, the uranium mines in Arlit, Niger, and the underground natural gas and oil deposits in Southern Algeria.
Another international project, the Trans-Saharan Fiber Optic Backbone, has thousands of kilometers of cable lining the road.
More than 2,500 kilometers from Algiers to a central center on the Niger border, Algeria has finished its portion of the fiber optic backbone. Members of the project aim to provide a less expensive option for satellite systems.
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A trans-Saharan gas pipeline connecting Nigeria and Algeria via Niger is another significant project involving collaboration along the same axis. A total of UA 381.40 million will utilize on this project over a 60-month implementation period.
The Bank Group has contributed UA 120.37 million, or 31.56% of the project’s overall cost. IDB, BADEA, BDEAC, KFAED, SFD, OFID, and the three governments of Algeria, Niger, and Chad are other benefactors.
Its main objective is to increase regional trade and regional integration between the north and south of the Sahara. It will lower transportation and logistics costs.
It will improve the living circumstances of those who live in the Project Impact Area (PIA) and their access to essential social services (such as drinking water, schools, and health facilities) and contribute to a boost in security across the Sahara.
The development of digital classrooms will have been possible with the arrival of fiber optics. It will have a significant impact on education.
The route will provide chances to the countries it passed through and tie them together with a shared cultural heritage and pluralistic identities by delivering cultures, beliefs, languages, and tangible goods to communities across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
