In mid August, under the scorching sun in northeastern Algeria, construction workers from China and Algeria were sweating profusely at the site of the Beijia connecting line of the East West Expressway. Baghlish Hilal Din is a native of Bejaia and studied civil engineering in university. After graduating in 2019, he joined China Railway Construction as an engineer for the Bejaia Connection Line project. In addition to preparing construction plans and assigning work sites, he fully leverages the advantages of local people to coordinate land acquisition and relocation matters. "Algerians say that the Chinese build the best roads. Chinese people have good skills. The key to success is also the spirit of cooperation, communication ability and time concept. Faced with difficulties, each of them treated their work as their own, which deeply touched me Hilal Ding said. This is the interior view of the Sidi Aish Tunnel on the Bejaia Connection Line of the East West Expressway in Algeria, taken on July 11, 2023. According to Xinhua News Agency (provided by China Railway Construction Corporation), after the controlled project Xidi Aish Tunnel was opened last year, the completion rate of the approximately 100 kilometer Beijia connection line has exceeded 80%. After the completion of the project, it will benefit 900000 local residents. The travel time from Beijia Port to the East West Expressway will be shortened from 4 hours to 1 hour, which is expected to fully utilize the transportation capacity of Beijia Port, promote economic and social development along the route, drive investment, and activate the local tourism market. To get rich, first build roads During the years of collaborating with Chinese road builders, Hilal Din learned this Chinese proverb. The completion and opening of every road section has changed the transportation situation in Algeria and the lives of thousands of people like me. In the northwest of Algeria, which is more than 700 kilometers away from Bejaia, the construction site of the Tlemcen connection line, another east-west highway connecting line, can also see the hard work of Chinese and Arab road builders. The project is 50 kilometers long and connects the port of Gezwat with the east-west highway. On July 1, 2023, construction workers prepared for the opening of the 84 kilometer East West Expressway project in Taf Province, Algeria. Liu Yan, the project leader of the Tlemcen connection line, studied and lived in France for many years, according to Xinhua News Agency (picture provided by CITIC Construction). He is fluent in French and familiar with European standards. Faced with highly demanding French supervisors, Liu Yan has always made improving highway quality a priority, striving to reduce costs and increase efficiency for the project, and optimizing individual engineering schemes such as earthwork and crevice drainage pipes. Liu Yan and other Chinese builders learned about Algerian culture, took the initiative to make friends with local employees, set up medical rooms, prayer rooms, and rest rooms in the project camp, fully respected the customs and habits of local employees, and enhanced their sense of identity. He attempted to allocate relatively independent construction sections to local teams in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of local employees. The Tlemcen Connection Line is the fastest construction project among multiple highways in western Algeria that started construction at the same time. It completed temporary acceptance on May 23 and is expected to be officially opened to traffic in the near future. After the opening of this road section, it will bring great convenience to the local people and allow local specialty agricultural and seafood products to enter a broader market. This is an 84 kilometer project of the upcoming opening of the east section of the Algerian East West Expressway, filmed on August 12, 2023 in the Taf Province of Algeria. In the past 20 years, Chinese companies have participated as the main contractors in the construction of multiple high-grade highways that run through the east and west, connecting the north and south of Algeria. The total length of the constructed roads has exceeded 800 kilometers, and more than 16000 road construction workers have been trained. These roads connect Algerian cities and villages on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and draw the hearts of the two peoples closer. (New Society)