ALGIERS - The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project, whose Algerian section was launched into construction on Thursday in the Wilaya of Adrar, constitutes a strategic lever to strengthen African energy integration, broaden access to energy and stimulate the economic development of the countries concerned, stressed the executive director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC), Rashid Ali Abdallah.
The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project, whose Algerian section was launched into construction on Thursday in the Wilaya of Adrar, constitutes a strategic lever to strengthen African energy integration, broaden access to energy and stimulate the economic development of the countries concerned, stressed the executive director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC), Rashid Ali Abdallah.
In a statement to APS, Mr. Ali Abdallah stressed that the TSGP is not only an infrastructure intended to extend access to natural gas, but also a vector for job creation, industrial development and economic growth in the countries crossed by the project.
He stated that this project will further promote regional integration by linking Nigeria, Niger and Algeria, while also opening the way, he said, for the possible connection of other African countries in the future, in line with the objectives of the African Union's Agenda 2063 aimed at achieving an integrated Africa.
Regarding its impact on international markets, Mr. Ali Abdallah noted that Africa already plays an important role in the global supply of natural gas, particularly in Europe where Algeria is among the main suppliers.
The planned connection of the TSGP to existing gas infrastructure between Algeria and Europe will consolidate energy trade relations across the Mediterranean and further strengthen Africa's position as a reliable supplier of natural gas on international markets, said the executive director of AFREC, a specialized agency of the African Union based in Algiers.
Furthermore, Mr. Ali Abdallah believes that the TSGP will contribute to improving access to energy and strengthening long-term energy security in the countries located along its route, recalling that the African Union adopted in 2022 a common position on access to energy and a just energy transition, encouraging the use of renewable and non-renewable energy sources to bridge the continent's energy deficit.
The TSGP will contribute in particular to the construction of new gas transport infrastructure, job creation, improved access to energy and the strengthening of regional integration, noted the executive director of AFREC, stressing that it is part of the objectives to develop African hydrocarbon markets and gradually reduce the continent's dependence on energy imports.
More broadly, Mr. Ali Abdallah believed that energy interconnection projects such as the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline should enable African countries to benefit more from their own energy resources, beyond their contribution to exports to international markets.
He noted that, while the first beneficiaries of the project will be the countries directly crossed by the gas pipeline, other African states should also be able to access its benefits in the spirit of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), thus strengthening the energy and economic integration of the continent.