Work for the $3.5bn El-Hamdania port planned in the northern region of Tipaza in Algeria has yet to start, according to a source with knowledge of the project.

The contract for the project was awarded in January 2016 by Algeria’s Transport Ministry to a a team of China Harbour Engineering Company (Chec) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), which has since agreed to take a joint 49 per cent stake in the port operating company, with the Algerian Port Authority taking the remaining shares.

The port, which is planned as Algeria’s response to Morocco’s Tanger Med, is expected to have a capacity to handle up to 6.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) annually upon the completion of its two-phased construction period.

According to the government’s initial plan, phase one of the port was expected to be completed in 2021, and the second phase was to be completed in 2024.

MEED understands the port will utilise long-term financing from Chinese banks.

In early January, Abdelghani Zaalane, Algeria’s Public Works and Transport minister, said the detailed design of the port has been completed and approved by the concerned authorities.

It is understood that authorities are now in the process of releasing land required by the scheme as well as the roads that will link the El-Hamdania port to the East-West highway, which lies within 35 kilometres of the port, and to Algeria's main railway lines, which are situated within 24 kilometres of the port.

In addition to funding issues, it is understood that the project faces opposition from local and national authorities, who fear construction work could threaten the seaside ecosystem as well as the region’s rich archaeological sites.

El-Hamdania is located approximately 70 kilometres west of Algiers, the country’s capital.  The planned transhipment port is to be located between the cities of Cherchell in Tipaza and Tenes in Chlef. The proposed port will connect Algeria with Southeast Asia, the US, and Africa and is expected to augment the country’s existing maritime traffic capacity. It is being positioned to become a hub that could potentially compete with the Spanish ports of Valencia and Barcelona.