Algeria’s National Agency for Design and Management of Djamaa el-Djazair (Anargema) has invited companies to submit bids for the contract to build an estimated $1.4bn mosque in Algiers.

Prequalified groups have until 15 June to submit bids for the main construction package on the Djamaa el-Djazair, which will be the third largest mosque in the world when it is completed.

Anargema has prequalified seven groups for the tender after 15 groups had submitted prequalification documents in October 2010.

 The prequalifiers are:

• Arabian Construction Company (ACC) (Lebanon) / Astaldi (Italy)
• Besix (Belgium)/ Orascom (Egypt) / Arabtec Construction (UAE)
• China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
• Enka (Turkey)
• FCC (Spain)/ Cosider Construction (local) / ETRHB (local)
• OHL (Spain)
• Strabag (Austria)/ Renaissance Construction (local) / Batimetal (local) / Rizanni de Eccher (Italy) / Intec (Germany)

When complete, the Djamaa el-Djazair will have a capacity of almost 40,000 people and will include a 21,000 square-metre prayer room, a 21,000 sq m courtyard, a 42,000 sq m esplanade and a 214-metre high minaret.

The development will also include a two-building culture centre made up of a 16,000 sq m auditorium and a 21,800 sq m library. A 300-student graduate school and a 180,000 sq m car park complete the development.    

A consortium of German design consultants Krebs und Kiefer and KSP Engel und Zimmerman won a competition for the design of the development in 2008.

In April 2010, the client delayed the project’s completion date by a year to 2014. Algeria’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Bouabdallah Ghoulamallah said the delay came after changes were made to the early design of the mosque.

Canadian engineering firm Dessau is assisting Anargema in an advisory role, but is not involved in design or technical decisions (MEED 9:4:10).