Dessau Obtains a $38.8M Rail Project in Algeria
Dessau, one of the largest engineering-construction firms in Canada, has announced that it has obtained a contract of $38.8 million in Algeria’s rail sector. The firm will produce the preliminary and final design for the construction of a new 170-km electrified double track between the cities of Bordj Bou Arréridj and Thénia in Algeria’s northeast. This contract is part of a project totalling $2.3 billion tabled by Algeria's National Agency of Studies and Follow-up on Railway Investments (ANESRIF).
“This mandate strengthens our presence in Algeria, where we have already successfully completed major engineering-construction projects,” stated Jean-Pierre Sauriol, Dessau’s President and CEO. “We are honoured that our solid expertise in the rail sector as well as our approach to services are internationally recognized in this way.”
The joint venture, comprising China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and Turkish partner Ozgun Construction, was awarded the contract and chose Dessau to conduct studies for the operation of mixed rail services (passenger and freight), with trains reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h. “Our project team, based in Algiers, will primarily be mandated to design a modern track to reduce travel time between Algiers and Constantine,” emphasized Jean-Stéphane Bédard, Vice President of Dessau’s Transportation Division. “Dessau, which will call on the talent of about 50 Canadian and Algerian engineers, demonstrates its tremendous ability to adapt and its international positioning by participating in this Algerian project, led by the Chinese in partnership with the Turks.”
Furthermore, Dessau will be responsible for designing engineering works (bridges, viaducts, underpasses and overpasses), drainage structures, rebuilding roads and railways, signalling and telecommunications facilities, and infrastructure and equipment for electrifying the track, and defining the features of tunnels and their equipment.
About Dessau
Founded in 1957, Dessau is the second largest engineering firm in Quebec, the fifth largest in Canada, and ranks among the top 100 in the world. Specializing in several different fields related to engineering and construction, Dessau is able to plan, design, build and manage the various infrastructures owned by its public and private-sector clients. With 4,600 employees and annual sales of $600M, the company operates offices in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as several other countries in North Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.