Reported investment in the regional development zones grew 23.7% in the first half of 2018 to 1,064.0 MD against 860.2 MD during the first six months of 2017.
The share of these zones in the all governorates increased from 43.1% to 54.2% in the first six months of 2018, according to the economic outlook bulletin (June 2018) of the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII).
This increase is mainly explained by the sharp rise in reported investments in the governorate of Sidi Bouzid which amounted to 223.8% during the first six months of 2018 (155.2 MD vs. 47.9 MD), mainly following the reported creation of a production unit of refractory or heat-resistant products for a total of 82.1MD and the reported extension of a dairy and cheese production unit for a total of 55.0 MD.
This was the same for the governorate of Gafsa whose investments reached 52.0 MD against 29.2 MD during the first six months of 2017, thanks to the reported extension during the first six months of 2018 of a manufacturing unit of automotive harnesses for 14.0 MD and a plaster manufacturing unit for 6.5 MD.
Reported investments in the governorate of Zaghouan also rose from 117.2 MD to 204.9 MD during the first six months of 2018, up 74.8%, thanks to the reporting of a cardboard packaging manacture unit for an amount of 40.5 MD and for the extension of a manufacturing unit for cable harnesses and components for automobiles with a budget of 8.8 MD.
Similarly, reported investments in the regional development delegation of the Sfax governorate amounted to 129.6 MD during the first six months of 2018 compared to 47.3 MD during the same period of 2017, recording a growth of 174.1%, after the reported extension of a corrugated board packaging unit for a total of 15.0 MD and the extension of a printing paper manufacturing unit for 10.0MD.
In addition, reported investments in the governorate of Jendouba recorded a 32.4% increase in the first six months of 2018 (52.6 MD vs. 39.7 MD), after the reported creation of a prefabricated concrete elements manufacturing unit for an amount of 14.7 MD and the reported creation of a unit of manufacture of agglomerated concrete for the amount of 13.8 MD.
The delegation of regional development of the governorate of Medenine also saw an increase in investments, which reached 63.1 MD against 17.8 MD during the first six months of 2017 (+ 253.4%), resulting from the reported creation of a cement manufacturing unit for an amount of 6.0 MD in the first six months of 2018.
