Réghaïa

Réghaïa is a municipality in Algiers province, Algeria. It is located in Rouïba district and is the most populated municipality of the district.

Geography

It is located in the northern part of the plain of Mitidja, with sandy beaches along the coast. It is home to a Ramsar-recognized humid marsh and a lake having an area of 75 hectares (185 acres) and a length of 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi). A natural reserve is being built there. There is also a 600 meter (1969 ft) long island there: Hadjrat Bounattah/Ile Agueli, one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the beach of Reghaïa.

History

Reghaïa was originally a settlement of the Kabyle tribe Ghaya. There are traces of Roman presence near the lake. However, the urbanization of the area started with the arriving of the Ouled Hadjadj tribe, with origins from todays Morocco. During the start of the french rule in Algeria, Reghaïa came into existence as a district by an act signed by Napoleon III in 1858, and it became a purely agricultural colony of 3000 hectares (7413 acres) which were given to two french settler families Mercier and Saussine (the latter was franco-american). The modern day municipality was created in 1974, 12 years after the algerian independency, as it was cut out from the municipality of Rouïba to form its own defined territory, but still within the province of Algiers. In 1985, Reghaia, alongside Rouiba, Ain taya, Dergena and El Marsa were included to the newly created province of Boumerdes. However the administrative reorganization turned out to be quite costly for the municipality of Reghaia. In the late 1990’s, a considerable part of its area was then again cut out in order to, alongside the newly created municipalities of Boudouaou, El Bahri, Ouled Hadadj and Heraoua, be included back to the province of Algiers.

Economy

The southern part of the municipality is more of an important commercial center, with the northern part still being agricultural. There is also the industrial park of Rouïba-Reghaïa which covers 1000 hecares (2471 acres) and employs a quarter of the active population. Among some notable factories belong to Citroën and Danone.

Transport

Algiers international airport (Houari Boumediene) is located approximately 15 Km (9.3 miles) to the west. Its train station is considered to be the third main station in the district of Algiers. Most long destination trains stop at Reghaia station, such as the ones which go to Bejaia, Constantine and Annaba. In addition to that, every 10 to 15 minutes, there is a commuter train to both Algiers or Boumerdes. The bus station is one of the busiest stations in Algiers, a lot of people from the surrounding municipalities such as, Boudouaou, Heraoua, Ouled Hadadj, Ouled Moussa and Boudouau El Bahri use Reghaia as the main transit station to various destinations, mainly Algiers.

External links

• Reghaïa on Google Earth