The project to build a deep-water port at Enfidha (Sousse) is still under way, at an estimated cost of TND 1,030 million, Economy and Planning Minister Feryel Ouerghi on Wednesday told a plenary session of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP).
The State is in the process of identifying solutions to advance work on this project by seeking a strategic partner, she pointed out.
In response to MPs’ questions, Ouerghi said that although the Enfidha port company had received three offers to finance this project, the high authority for public procurement had not accepted them because of certain shortcomings in the financing formulas proposed to this end.
She added, during the plenary session devoted to the examination of a draft credit agreement between Tunisia and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to contribute to the financing of Tunisia’s Economic Development Corridor project, that the State has opted to continue the search for the right opportunity to complete this strategic project.
She underlined the importance of the new territorial subdivision of districts in narrowing the regional disparity in terms of development.
The project to twin National Road 13, funded by the aforementioned loan, is part of the strategy to interconnect inland regions with coastal regions, in line with the new territorial division, Ouerghi explained.
The State is currently working to extend the experience of economic corridors to include national road no. 14, linking Sfax to Gafsa, national road no. 15 linking Gabes to the Algerian borders and road no. 16 linking Gabes to Tozeur.
With regard to tackling water stress, she pointed out that the government is endeavouring to devise a strategy for the water sector up to 2050, which will require funding of $23 billion.
This strategy includes the construction of a number of seawater desalination plants and other plants for recycling wastewater and reusing it for irrigation.
The strategy also aims to equip irrigable areas with water-saving equipment to reach 96.5% and to increase the rate of water usable for irrigation to 17% of all treated water used by the end of 2025, in addition to increasing surface water resources to reach 95% by 2025.
The credit agreement project between Tunisia and the IBRD, worth €203 million (nearly $220 million), equivalent to about TND 681 million, was adopted on Wednesday by the ARP with 116 votes for, one abstention, and 6 against.
