The Tunis Transport Company (TRANSTU), on Thursday, signed a loan agreement worth €45 million (145 million dinars) with The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to fund 50% of the project to renew the train car fleet for the Tunis – la Goulette-Marsa (TGM) train.
The loan will be used to purchase 18 new train cars, which will be put into service on this historic line, linking the capital to La Marsa. The new cars will replace 40-year-old rolling stock.
The loan agreement was signed in Tunis between Minister of Finance and acting Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation Ridha Chalghoum, and head of EBRD’s office in Tunisia Antoine Sallé de Chou.
CEO of the Tunis Transport Company Anis Malloulchi said the process of receiving wagons will last from March 2023 to March 2024. The call for tenders will be launched on December 18, 2019. The project will take approximately 35 months to complete.
In addition, Transtu will receive technical assistance, besides the adoption and implementation of measures to improve its operational efficiency and financial performance. This project also includes a
component on the implementation of a plan to strengthen the company’s governance and internal control practices.
The second part of the project is expected to be funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with a loan of €45 million, said the Tunisian Finance Minister.
The head of EBRD office in Tunis said the loan, which will be repaid over 15 years, is granted on favorable terms, at an interest rate of no more than 1%, with a grace period of 5 years. The loan is coupled with a grant of €1.26 million under technical assistance.
