Skikda

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Skikda (skēk´də), formerly Philippeville (fēlēpvēl´), city (1998 pop. 152,335), NE Algeria, a port on the Gulf of Stora of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the port for Constantine and handles mostly agricultural and mineral products. Natural gas, oil refining, and petrochemical industries have been developed and pipelines have been built for their transportation. Skikda was founded by the French in 1838 on the site of a Carthaginian colony, Rusicade, which later flourished as a port under the Romans.