Neighbors agree to restart trans-Saharan gas pipeline

Construction on the stalled project will resume after Ramadan, Algeria’s president has said during talks with Niger’s military leader

Algeria and Niger have agreed to restart work on the long-delayed Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), marking a diplomatic reset after nearly a year of strained relations between the two African neighbors.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Niger’s military leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani announced the move during talks in Algiers on Monday.

Construction will resume “after the holy month of Ramadan,” Tebboune told reporters at a joint press conference with his Nigerien counterpart, adding that Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach will lead implementation of the roughly 4,100-km project.

First proposed more than 15 years ago, the TSGP is expected to carry up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Nigeria across Niger, linking to Algeria’s Mediterranean export infrastructure. The project has been stalled primarily by security concerns across the Sahel, compounded by financing challenges and shifting regional politics.

The decision to restart construction follows what Tebboune described as “an abnormal period characterized by coldness” between Algeria and Niger.

Diplomatic relations between Algiers and Niamey deteriorated last April after Algeria shot down an armed drone near its southern border with Mali. The incident prompted Niger, alongside Mali and Burkina Faso, members of the Alliance of Sahel States, to recall their ambassadors in solidarity.

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However, Algeria and Niger restored full diplomatic ties on February 12, followed by Gen. Tchiani’s two-day official visit which began on Sunday.

During the trip, the Nigerien leader said both sides hoped to “inspire a new dynamic in our fraternal cooperation and neighborly ties.” 

He also thanked Algeria for rejecting “French calls to wage war” against Niger following the July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

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Both Algeria and Niger have fraught relations with France over alleged interference. Niger’s military leadership has repeatedly accused Paris of meddling in its internal affairs and supporting militants behind a deadly jihadist insurgency in the Sahel. Algeria’s ties with France have also been strained by historical grievances, Paris’ stance on Western Sahara, and migration disputes.

On Monday, Tebboune and Tchiani pledged closer strategic cooperation across several sectors, including energy, security, and education.

“We will preserve the friendship that has united us with Niger for generations,” Algeria’s president said.