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Expected for several months already, the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, made a working and inspection visit to Constantine on Thursday, unprecedented in terms of the big announcements and the popular fervor as evidenced by the immense crowd that came to welcome him on Abane-Ramdane Street, the main artery in the city center of the eastern capital.
After paying his respects at the tomb of Sheikh Abdelhamid Benbadis where he laid a wreath of flowers in memory of the founder of the Association of Algerian Ulemas, the Head of State treated himself to a walkabout, where men, women and children shouted in unison: “ long live friend Tebboune », before joining the main inspection sites. A moment which will set the tone for a visit marked both by proximity to citizens and the launch of major structuring projects.
The notable point of the Constantine visit, the first of President Tebboune, was the long-awaited symbolic national launch of the AADL 3 project, from the Sissaoui city, the most important site to host the Constantine part of this ambitious plan.
The President also gave, in the wake of the launch of the AADL, the start of the project to build 6,800 public rental housing units. A presentation was made to the Head of State, by Wali Abdelkhalek Sayouda, on the modernization of the old town, current projects and the progress of the digitalization of the housing sector at the local level, namely between urban restructuring, rehousing and harmonious extension of new centers.
Also long awaited, the new stadium in the eastern capital, planned for several years, will finally come to fruition. The Head of State laid the first stone of a large sports complex with 50,000 seats, which will be located in Guettar El-Aïch, a stone’s throw from the new town Ali-Mendjeli, set to become one of the largest sports facilities in eastern Algeria.
The sports complex in 3D
A detailed presentation of the project was submitted to the President, outlining the different components of the project: a modern stadium, two training grounds, an accommodation building with 60 rooms, an Olympic swimming pool with 3,000 seats, a sports hall with 2,000 seats, three tennis courts, a heliport, a car park for 3,500 vehicles as well as an energy center. The complex also provides two natural grass farms to guarantee self-sufficiency in land maintenance.
This project completes a sports card already enriched in recent years, in particular by the rehabilitation of the Chahid Hamlaoui stadium. But for the President of the Republic, the challenge is clear: to provide Constantine with infrastructure at the level of large regional metropolises, capable of hosting national and international events.
A health flagship and credibility
The President also laid the first stone of the new CHU planned for a capacity of 500 beds, which will be erected on a land base in Zouaghi-Slimane, a city located between the city of Constantine and the new megacity of Ali-Mendjeli. This infrastructure, located on 20 hectares, will include 24 specialized services and an educational pavilion with 1,000 places.
Languishing under a flood of difficulties due to the large influx of patients from several eastern wilayas, this establishment will have to ease the pressure on the Dr Benbadis University Hospital and, as a result, make it possible to improve the quality of care provided to patients. An annex was designed to accommodate an emergency hospital.
Launch of the health center
During this stage, the President of the Republic insisted on a major direction: Algeria must move towards the creation of hospitals specialized in cutting-edge disciplines such as neurosurgery and cardiology. He recalled that the country has “great potential” and benefits from the “necessary credibility” to attract partnerships, citing in particular medical cooperation with Germany, whose expertise will be mobilized to develop advanced specialties.
The Head of State also highlighted the need to reduce the time it takes to treat critical cases, stressing that building hospitals is not enough if specialized training does not accompany expansion. Currently, Algeria trains around 13,000 general practitioners per year. “The objective is to have an equivalent number of specialists graduating from our universities,” he said, thus setting a strong priority for the future of the sector.
Still in the health sector, the President inaugurated a new pharmaceutical complex of the Union Pharmaceutique Constantinoise (UPC). The 27,000 m² complex, located in the 24-Février industrial zone, strategic for health, will produce respiratory sprays, ENT medications and anti-cancer treatments, with the aim of reducing dependence on imports. The factory will create more than 500 jobs.
In the public works sector, an interchange linking the RN 3 to the East-West motorway was opened to traffic by the host of the city of Ponts. Explanations were provided to him on this occasion.
The President of the Republic subsequently held a meeting with civil society actors at the end of the day. On this occasion, he took the time to listen to the concerns of the participants and collect their proposals to support the State’s efforts in the development of the Eastern capital.