Ville Nouvelle de Boughezoul (VNBoughezoul)

The Ville Nouvelle de Boughezoul (VNBoughezoul) is a new city under development in Médéa Wilaya, Algeria, near the Boughezoul town¹. VNBoughezoul is one of five new ‘satellite’ cities being constructed in the country as part of a larger national effort to modernize and expand urban areas, and balance the country’s population distribution and relieve congestion on the coast^{2 i}. The project’s vision is to become ‘a center of competitiveness and excellence, based on sustainable development, new and renewable energies and ecology’, designed to accommodate a population of 400,000 inhabitants and provide 122,500 jobs in the horizon of 2035³.

Situated 170 km south of Algiers, VNBoughezoul covers an area of 200 km² strategically placed at the crossroads of North-South and East-West axes⁴. Its master plan, released in 2013, focuses on sustainability, rationality, and adaptation to the local context⁵. It comprises several districts and functions, including:

• Thirteen residential quarters with more than 38,000 residential units of different typologies, commercial and recreational areas with an emphasis on introducing ample green spaces to balance the high-density of housing⁶;
• Technological industrial zone focused on research and development, electronics, renewable energies, biotechnology, food agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and telecom. A major logistics center will be dedicated to agricultural, livestock and aquaculture products⁷;
• University with two campuses⁸;
• Medical district including the university hospital, clinics, and student residences⁹;
• Lake Bogzul with its wetlands and three artificial islands which are designed as a hub for eco-tourism¹⁰;
• Sports infrastructure, including sports stadiums and other related facilities¹¹;
• A public mobility infrastructure including a new multimodal railway station and tramway and public transport networks¹²;
• 3 km² of solar fields and wind farms, highlighting the project’s commitment to sustainability and renewable energy¹³;
• The Algerian space agency¹⁴.

Initiated in 2006, the project’s development is planned in phases. The first phase includes the basic infrastructure, including a 28 km network of tunnels for utilities like electricity, fiber optics, drinking water, and irrigation, and has already been completed¹⁵. As of 2023, the Public Establishment is in the process of selecting investors for the concession of land in the industrial zone, the multimodal station, the Health Center, and Real Estate development¹⁶. 

The Public Establishment of The New City Of Boughezoul, a public establishment of an industrial and commercial nature (EPIC), is responsible for the project’s construction, development, and marketing, under the supervision of the Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning and the City¹⁷. The project is funded by the Algerian government, with a budget of $22 million, supplemented by a $8.2 million grant from the Global Environment Facility¹⁸.