All content in this article is based on official and reliable sources, and the specific information is detailed at the end of the article
-< > foreword-
In 2005, Algeria in North Africa opened an international tender for the highway project, but this "project of the century" order was too difficult and discouraged many countries.
Even so, China was confident that it would succeed in getting the road open to traffic after years of hard work, but it didn't think it would make Japan lose face.
So, what does the cooperation between China and Argentina have to do with Japan, and how strong is China's infrastructure?
-< World-Class Problem: Algerian Highway >-
When it comes to Africa, the first thing that comes to mind is poverty, backwardness, and harsh climate, as well as the desert as far as the eye can see.
But on the shores of the Mediterranean, there is a country with a diverse climate and environment, from the mysterious Sahara Desert to an oasis of hope, with all kinds of bathing beaches and places of interest.
This is Algeria, the largest country in Africa.
However, despite its diverse climates, most of Algeria is still a barren desert, and most people are concentrated on the northern coast in order to survive and develop.
Such a large land area has become a problem for the development of national governance, which is the only highway that Algeria has not had before can run through the entire country.
There is also the Atlas Mountains, which run through the north and south of Algeria, which hinder the local economy, with trucks and sightseeing buses often causing traffic jams on existing roads.
Looking back at the situation in Algeria at that time, it is enough to prove how important the saying "if you want to get rich, you must first build roads".
So in 2015, the Algerian government announced to the world that it would build a north-south highway across the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean.
Just listening to these two place names can actually feel how difficult it is, plus the fact that you have to cross the spiraling mountains in the middle, it is enough to see how difficult the terrain and complex geology of this road are.
According to the route of the tender project at that time, it can be found that the foundation along the route is weak, and there are many marl rock formations, and if you use filler with marl, the road will be blown into muck by the wind and poured into mud by rainwater.
This kind of world-class engineering problem has discouraged many countries, and those foreign companies have decided to withdraw and no longer participate in geological exploration after seeing the relevant information of geological exploration.
So, how does China, as an infrastructure maniac, challenge the impossible in the face of such a difficult project?
-< China took over and handed over the perfect answer>-
Algeria's highway construction is divided into two parts, one is the east-west highway that runs through the entire territory of Algeria, with a total length of 1,216 kilometers, and the other is the north-south highway that runs through the north-south traffic artery of Algeria.
In the 53-kilometer highway project of the North-South Expressway, the Algerian government directly awarded the contract to China State Construction to help build it.
The reason for such trust in China is that in 2009, China State Construction successfully won the tender for the Algerian Highway and began to undertake the construction of the TIPAZA 48-kilometer expressway project.
The project was opened in three years and has brought great benefits to Algeria.
Therefore, Algeria unreservedly trusted China in the subsequent projects, and China Construction did not disappoint it, not only bringing jobs to local workers, but also promoting various technologies to promote local development.
In the process of road construction, the Chinese side also took special care to protect the living environment of Algeria's national treasure tailless monkeys, and set up animal-specific access roads and viaducts.
In order to reduce noise, a fence was built around the perimeter to ensure the normal life of residents on both sides.
Of course, the construction process also encountered many difficulties, especially the opening of the mountain tunnel, not only to face the risks brought by landslides in the rainy season, but also to face various doubts.
But thanks to China's continued efforts, the tunnel was successfully penetrated, even 11 years earlier than expected.
On the east-west highway project, one-third of the road section was built by the Chinese side, which was full of difficulties, and many foreign companies decisively chose to withdraw after seeing the geological environment, but only China persevered.
There was also a headache for everyone on this section of the tunnel, but after six years of continuous efforts by more than 700 workers, the largest cross-sectional tunnel in Africa was finally fully penetrated.
In the six years from 2006 to 2012, the Chinese side managed to win 528 kilometers of the road, including a special 84 kilometers, which was not taken over by China at first, but by Japan.
The 84 kilometers were not only difficult but also surprisingly expensive, and it was all because of the marl mentioned above, so Japan eventually abandoned the road, which has been put on hold even when other highways have been opened.
Later, it was the Chinese side who tried to solve the problem and built the 84-kilometer road perfectly.
So that's why China has lost face after handing over a perfect answer.
It can also be seen from here how strong our infrastructure level is, after all, infrastructure madness is not called in vain.
-< China's infrastructure super strong >-
In 2023, the Algerian East and West Tell with Chinese participation in the construction has been opened to traffic, bringing more possibilities for local development.
Also last year, the President of Algeria visited China, and they said that they would also cooperate with China in railway construction.
After all, Algeria's highways, China has shown the world the level of our infrastructure.
In addition to roads, Algeria has a Chinese shadow in various infrastructures, including ports, mosques, and so on.
As early as 2017, China also helped to open the Gantas Tunnel on the Algerian Northern Trunk Railway, making a great contribution, and finally solved this world-class problem without being discouraged in the face of many difficulties.
The strength of China's infrastructure is not just talking, it is enough to look at the domestic railway and highway lines.
We have the world's most frequent high-speed rail network, the world's largest highway network, and the total length of the comprehensive transportation network has exceeded 6 million kilometers.
Doesn't that tell the whole story?
China's high-speed railway, China's bridge, and China's port have become the most beautiful business cards we show to the world.
In addition, large-scale water conservancy projects such as the "South-to-North Water Diversion" and the "Pinglu Canal" are enough to show our infrastructure capacity.
In 2025, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel, a super project connecting northern and southern Xinjiang, is also expected to open to traffic, and after the completion of this tunnel, it will only take three hours from Urumqi to Yuli County.
In the future, we will not stop here, but further enhance the country's competitiveness and continue to refresh China's speed in these areas.
Let the world see, what is called China's infrastructure!
Global Network: "This section of highway built by Chinese enterprises is a masterpiece"
Xinhua News Agency: (International) Newsletter: "Nothing is impossible" -- a record of the Chinese road builders who built Algeria's "Century Project".
Rim Asia Defense: China's construction is not enough to print money, the Algerian president's visit to China, and the railway will also be handed over to China to build