The Spanish firm Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA, ranked 13th on ENR's list of the top global contractors, has won a $1.72-billion contract in partnership with Algeria's ETRHB Haddad to build a 66-kilometer rail line in Algeria. The line will connect the city of Tlemcen, the western terminus of the country's rail network, with the town of Akkid Abbas on the Moroccan border.
The contract was awarded by the Algerian government through the Agence National d'Etudes et Suivi de Realisations des Investissements Ferroviaires, or ANESRIF, an agency created in 2005 to improve the country's railway system.