Algeria is set to start work on its ambitious sea port project at El Hamdania which will be developed at an investment of $3.3 billion, said a report.

Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal (photo), who approved the project, dubbed it as the biggest infrastructure development since the country's independence from France, reported ANSAmed.

The project, to be developed in two phases near the city of Cherchell, will be a public-private partnership venture with foreign participation. The tenders for the project will be issued soon, it stated.

The area, stretching over 2,000 hectares and less than 100 km away from capital Algiers, was chosen because of its position as a sheltered natural bay with waters as deep as 20 m allowing the biggest container vessels to dock there, said the report.

It will feature 23 docking quays with an overall capacity of some 25.7 million tonnes of general cargo, stated the report.

It also will be the centre of an ambitious industrial development project well connected to the railway network and motorways that will serve as a hub for international trans shipments and as a national gateway for Algeria, it added.