Launch of Algerian Section Works Injects Billions into the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline and Buries the Illusions of the So-Called “Makhzen Pipeline” — By Maamar Gani
At a time when the Moroccan Makhzen regime continues to sell illusions to its citizens and to African states through media fragments and paper-based schemes that lack both tangible grounding and financial backing, the Algerian state has delivered a decisive blow to economic fabrications in the Sahel region. This was embodied in a firm, operational, and politically significant announcement issued by Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab in Adrar, confirming the official launch of fieldworks for the Algerian section of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), linking Nigeria to Europe via Niger and Algeria.
This strategic announcement is far more than a routine governmental statement; it represents the concrete embodiment of a “state of sovereignty and achievement,” led by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, which builds reality through action, relying on the formidable financial and technical capacity of the Sonatrach Group. It effectively and definitively neutralizes the “illusions and diplomatic theatrics” that the Makhzen has attempted to promote regarding the fictional Nigeria–Morocco gas pipeline project.
Algerian Approach: Ready Infrastructure and Launched Works
The major African Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) is grounded in a solid and realistic economic foundation, making it the only viable and secure option for Africa and European partners alike. The pipeline extends over more than 4,000 kilometres, connecting Nigeria’s oil and gas fields to Algeria’s vast energy network linked to Europe.
The strength of Algeria’s position—reinforced by Minister Arkab’s statement—rests on several field-based realities:
Algeria already possesses a vast national pipeline network and compression stations extending from the deep south (In Amenas and Hassi Messaoud) to the northern coastlines. This means the Algerian section requires only the final interconnection with the Nigerien border.
Self-financing and sovereign investment: unlike Rabat, which relies on loans and seeks imaginary financiers for its project crossing 13 countries and conflict zones, the Algerian section is launched through national financing and full trust from African partners (Nigeria and Niger), who recognize Algeria as a reliable actor that honours its commitments efficiently.
High economic viability: the Trans-Saharan pipeline (Algeria–Niamey–Abuja) offers significantly lower implementation costs and faster execution, ensuring rapid delivery of Nigerian gas to global markets by leveraging Algeria’s existing Mediterranean export infrastructure (Medgaz and Transmed).
Burial of Makhzen Illusions: The Collapse of the Atlantic Pipeline Narrative
Mohamed Arkab’s announcement created a shockwave in Rabat and fully exposed the falsehoods of the Makhzen propaganda machine, which for years has used the so-called “Atlantic pipeline” project as a tool of political leverage, diplomatic bargaining, and an attempt to undermine Algeria’s growing geopolitical presence in Africa.
With works now officially underway, the Makhzen narrative has collapsed, and its promises to several Sahel countries have evaporated. Reality and figures leave no room for ambiguity:
“How can an entity facing severe economic constraints, unable even to provide basic necessities to its population, and entirely dependent on external assistance, convince African leaders of its ability to finance a gas pipeline crossing the Atlantic at a cost exceeding 30 billion dollars?”
Nigeria, along with the sovereign authorities of Niger—now benefiting from electricity supplied by the Algerian solidarity power station in Niamey—has recognized that betting on the Makhzen is a losing gamble, a mirage and an illusion. The only credible economic and energy actor capable of driving the Sahel’s development is a sovereign and stable Algeria.
Strategic Dimension: A Pipeline as a Development Lifeline for Sahel Peoples
This bold initiative reflects the depth of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s strategic vision, which integrates counterterrorism and anti-crime efforts through a development-oriented approach. The Trans-Saharan pipeline will not merely transport energy; it will become a vital artery for development, ensuring:
The development of border regions through the supply of gas and energy to villages and towns in Niger, Mali, and Nigeria, enabling the creation of industrial and agricultural zones capable of absorbing African youth and reducing irregular migration, poverty, and extremism.
The stabilization of regional balances by asserting Africa’s sovereignty over its energy decisions and blocking the influence of traditional colonial powers—particularly France—and their regional intermediaries, including the Makhzen and its allies, alongside external actors seeking to maintain the Sahel in a state of instability for resource extraction.
While the Makhzen continues to craft narratives and produce hollow statements from its polished salons in Rabat, Algerian hands are on the ground, advancing real infrastructure and launching the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline works. Algeria’s announcement stands as a decisive lesson in strategic parity and economic diplomacy: energy is not governed by slogans, and sovereignty is built through operational pipelines and the work of skilled engineers.
Algeria will remain a driver of development and a secure strategic hub for its neighbours, while the Makhzen’s imaginary projects have been buried beneath the sands of the free African Sahara. The discourse ends where reality begins.
— 𝐄𝐍𝐃 —
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