MOFCOM provides RMB 320 million grant for Opera House Construction Project

Project narrative

On April 14, 2010, the Chinese Government and the Government of Algeria signed a grant agreement for the Opera House Construction Project. The agreement was signed by the Director General of Algeria's National Agency of Management of Large Cultural Projects, Zouaoui Benhamdi, and Commercial and Economic Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Algeria, Lu Yifeng. In total, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) provided RMB 320 million of grant funding to support the implementation of this project. The purpose of the project was to construct an opera house with 1,400 seats approximately 12 kilometers west of the city center of Algiers in the Ould Fayet area. The project site occupied a construction area of approximately 18,493.23 square meters. Beijing Urban Construction Group was the contractor responsible for implementation. A construction contract was signed on October 10, 2012. Then, a foundation laying ceremony took place on November 5, 2012. However, project implementation did not begin until July 5, 2013. Construction ended on December 30, 2015 and MOFCOM conducted a final project inspection in December 2015. The project was officially handed over to the local authorities on February 24, 2016. MOFCOM conducted a post-project site inspection on May 9, 2018. The project was first conceived in 2006 by the Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika during a visit to China.