A high-level global forum on public-private partnerships (PPP) was held Tuesday in Tunis to boost investment in key sectors.
The forum is organised by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Tunisian Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, the General Commission for Public-Private Partnership, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
33 expert projects attended the event, who discussed the sectors concerned namely transport and logistics, energy, water and the environment, infrastructure and urban development and science and technology parks.
The transport and logistics sector includes the Enfidha port project, which consists of developing a new container terminal at Enfidha’s deepwater port with a budget of 3,336 million TND.
The Ben Guerdane Commercial and Logistics Activity Area project consists of creating a free trade and logistics area, combined with a resort offering leisure, health and wellness services close to the border with Libya for 41 million TD.
The third project is the creation of a bulk terminal at the port of Bizerte. This project (300 million TND) provides for the construction of a bulk carrier terminal in Bizerte dedicated to the unloading, storage and handling of pet coke for cement manufacturers in the first place and any other industry that will be converted back into pet coke.
The fourth project is the creation of an RO-PAX terminal on the south bank of the port of Bizerte. It aims to create a RoPax terminal on the south shore of the port of Bizerte with a budget of 80 million dinars.
The Sfax metro is a project that consists of a new public transport network for the metropolitan area of Sfax, including 2 lines of light metros (trams) and 3 lines of BHS for a total of 70km, and other transport facilities. The entire project costs around 2,800 MTD and would be implemented in stages from 2022 to 2030.
The Bir Mcherga logistic zone is a project that will develop a logistics zone at Bir Mcherga 45 km southwest of Tunis.
The project consists of the creation of several specialised areas, namely: a logistics zone, a free zone, depots and industrial units, container parking, dry port and business centre. The estimated cost of the project is TD 300 million.
The Gabes-Medenine railway line consists of a new railway line connecting Medenine in southern Tunisia to the SNCFT national railway network in Gabes.
The investment costs vary from 240 to 600 MTND, depending on the technical variants. The project is expected to be implemented in 2022.
The rehabilitation and maintenance of the light rail trains of Tunis consist in renovating and rehabilitating the 120 Siemens cars of the subway of the Tunis Transport Company (TRANSTU), in circulation since 1985 for (200 M TND).
The Kasserine-Sousse railway line concerns the building of a new section to connect the port of Sousse to the inner city of Kasserine.
550 million dinars are needed in this project (without rolling stock) and should be completed by 2026.
The integrated redevelopment of the Sousse railway station is an urban development programme aimed at providing new services to the inhabitants of the city of Sousse and train users, by enhancing the properties owned by SNCFT on the outskirts of the station.
The high-speed line project (Ras Jedir – Gabès-Tunis) and (Tunis Tabarka) consists in setting up the transmaghrébin high-speed rail network and is a regional project aiming to connect the main cities of the Maghreb countries namely: Casablanca, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. The Tunisian section of the high-speed line will have a total length of 840 km
The Gargour Logistics Zone is a project that will develop a logistics zone in Gargour, 18 km south of Sfax.
The project aims to support the development of the port of Sfax which began to receive Ro-Ro vessels and to be a logistics hub for Tunisia’s second largest city. The estimated cost of the project is TND 82.5 million
As regards the sector of Energy, Water and Environment, there is the project of the Water Treatment Plant in North Tunis, Seawater Desalination Station in Gabes, the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Gabes, the waste transport and recovery project – Tunis and Djerba, waste recovery projects Bizerte + Gabes + Sousse, seawater desalination plant in KSOUR ESSEF-MAHDIA, combined cycle steam station in Skhira with a capacity of 480 MW, the Seawater Desalination Plant at KSOUR ESSEF-MAHDIA, the Skhira Combined Cycle Steam Station with a capacity of 480 MW, the relocation of the Gabès Chemical Group Plant and the Renewable Energy Programme : Authorization and Concession Schemes.
Infrastructure and sustainable development, the duplication of the GP13 connecting Sfax to Kasserine are scheduled, along with the sports city of Sfax in addition to the renovation and extension of the marina of Sidi Bousaid, the Taparura project, the Project of the Djerba island connection with the mainland (Jorf-Ajim).
Other projects are the Sebkha Ben Ghayadha Development Project (Mahdia), the government site, the Zarzis Economic Activity Zone, the development and rehabilitation of the Sebkhat Sijoumi and the development of the El Khebayat thermal site.
With regard to the science and technology hubs, there are three projects: startup city, the university campus which is a project aimed at developing French and German universities by adopting an innovative system that results in the improvement of the education and training process and by reducing the tax burden on the government to respond to new demands and to facilitate the adoption of new services delivery and focus on the functions for which they are relatively advantaged .
As for the third project, it provides for the creation of a technology park in Manouba.
TunisianMonitorOnline (MNHN)
