Algiers - A German construction company has secured the contract to build the world's third-largest mosque in Algiers, during a two-day visit to the Algerian capital by Chancellor Angela Merkel, it was announced Thursday.

German architects Engel and Zimmermann, together with construction engineers Krebs and Kiefer, are to build the mosque to hold 40,000 faithful over the next four years.

Other members of the large business delegation travelling with the chancellor on her first visit to the country expressed confidence that other major deals would soon be signed.

Among the contracts under consideration is the delivery of four German-built frigates to the Algerian navy at a cost of some 5 billion euros (8 billion dollars).