Algeria is making efforts to revive the stalled construction of the road linking Tindouf to Zouerate. The ambitious project was initially announced with much enthusiasm on December 28, 2021, in Algiers, coinciding with a state visit by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. However, the anticipated overland route has since been mired in the Sahara's sands. On February 10, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune led a working session aimed at «monitoring the completion» of this project and «promoting trade between Algeria and Mauritania», as stated in a press release from the Algerian presidency. This development follows Morocco's initiation of a second commercial crossing with Mauritania, after El Guerguerate, intended to connect Es-Smara to its southern neighbor's border. The Moroccan project is advancing rapidly. The 800 km road between Tindouf and Zouerate is to be fully financed by Algeria, per the memorandum of understanding signed on December 28, 2021. In return, Algeria receives a ten-year operating concession, which is tacitly renewable. It wasn't until March 2022 that the Algerian President ratified the memorandum, causing frustration in Mauritania. The Mauritanian government pressed Algeria to expedite the road's construction during discussions between their respective Ministers of Equipment and Transport in Algiers on December 12, 2022. However, these efforts were initially in vain. Algeria only took decisive action after Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad joined an initiative launched by King Mohammed VI on November 6, 2023, in Marrakech. This initiative, announced on December 23, 2023, aimed to give Sahel countries access to the Atlantic Ocean. In response, Algeria moved to strengthen ties with Mauritania. President Tebboune ordered the establishment of a free-trade zone with Mauritania, and on February 22, 2024, the Tindouf-Zouerate road project was revitalized with a new announcement during the Mauritanian president's visit to Algiers. Algeria had previously inaugurated the Tindouf-Zouerate border crossing in August 2018, which featured an unsealed road that was criticized by Algerian transporters at the time.
