Reuters reported that Canada's biggest engineering company, SNC Lavalin Group has been awarded a contract to design, engineer and manage the construction of a new city in Algeria that will house 80,000 people.

According to an Algerian media report, the contract could be worth as much as EUR 312 million.

A company spokeswoman said that SNC would not confirm the amount of the contract until it was signed, which should happen within a few weeks. She said that the information in the Algerian media report seemed to be correct.

The report said that "La Ville Nouvelle de Hassi Messaoud” is expected to be constructed over 96 months at a cost of USD 6 billion. It will comprise an area of 4,483 hectares and will be a hub for oil companies operating at nearby oil fields.

The existing town of Hassi Messaoud, which means "blessed well" in Arabic, is in east-central Algeria and adjacent to a major oil field of the same name.

(Sourced from Reuters)