The huge project is one of many spearheaded by the Chinese in Africa.
Track installation for Africa's first heavy-haul desert railway has been completed, with the £1.5billion project backed by China. The Western Mining Railway will stretch through the Sahara Desert in Algeria and connects the Gara Djebilet iron mine in the south west of the country with its wider rail network and Mediterranean ports. The 575km railway is the largest single infrastructure project undertaken by a Chinese firm in Algeria.
The China Railway Construction Corporation oversaw the scheme with Algerian partners and its National Agency for Railway Investment Studies and Monitoring under the Belt and Road Initiative - an investment strategy adopted by China in order to extend its influence on the African continent via infrastructure projects designed to develop its economies.
The new railway will handle 32.5 tonne axle-load freight trains, as well as passenger services travelling up to 160kph.
1.1million concrete sleepers were produced.
Building it took two years, with experts working in tricky desert conditions.
They made use of Algeria’s first CPG500 track-laying machine and automated welding technology.
The project includes the six-kilometre-long PK330 Bridge, Africa's longest heavy-haul railway bridge.
China has emphasised how the structure crosses shifting sand and gravel in Tindouf province about 1,250km southwest of Algiers.
It is "the most technically complex section of the 575-km railway linking Bechar province with the Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit, one of the world's largest," officials added.
The China Railway Construction Corporation said Chinese and Algerian teams worked in "harsh Sahara Desert conditions, including extreme heat, sandstorms and acute water shortages".
Construction methods were also reportedly changed, with concrete poured at night and cooling techniques used to "ensure quality and safety".
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