Tunisia loaned €80.16 million to implement its road infrastructure

By Eunice WAWUDA

The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has granted Tunisia a loan of €80.16 million to implement the next phase of the country’s road improvement scheme.

The project for Phase 3 of the Road Infrastructure Modernization Programme carries a total cost of €86.21 million euros and is being co-financed by the loan of €80.16 million from the Bank.

This covers 92.98 percent of the total cost of the project with a supporting contribution of €6.05 million from the Tunisian government. The Bank’s participation was approved by the Board of Directors on 9 December last year.

The plan aims to upgrade188.9 km of classified roads in seven governorates: Kef, Kasserine, Sousse, Sfax, Kairouan, Siliana and Gafsa, where substantial economic potential remains unrealized due to transport constraints largely as a result of the poor condition of roads.

The Bank’s intervention will help to improve the quality of Tunisia’s road network and conditions for road users in the target areas. It will help to create an efficient and sustainable transport system, which can support growth and create favourable conditions for the movement of goods and people in and between Tunisia’s regions.

Solomon Quaynor, Bank Vice President with responsibility for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization, commented:

“Over the past 10 years, the African Development Bank has helped to renovate and modernize some 4,000 kilometres of roads and 104 kilometres of motorways, as well as creating various associated facilities in Tunisia.

This work has greatly improved the level of service provided by the road network, making various routes more convenient by the installation of bridges, and facilitating access to regions and to their socio-economic potential.”

He added that the upgrading and maintenance of road infrastructure during the third phase of the Road Infrastructure Modernization Programme would “improve prospects for the private sector and local SMEs, as well as creating new jobs for young people.”

“The Bank’s intervention will also benefit micro-enterprises focused on road maintenance, enabling infrastructure to be maintained over the long term, while at the same time creating market opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Road upgrades will improve access to regions with high agricultural value-added, contributing to Tunisia’s food security, thanks to the development of value chains supported by the private sector” Quaynor noted.

Improvement of road sections linking border regions of Tunisia and Algeria will help to achieve regional balance as regards road infrastructure quality in disadvantaged areas. It will also help to reduce youth unemployment by creating jobs to maintain the network, alleviating poverty in vulnerable parts of the country.

The project contributes to two of the High5 operational priorities of the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033, namely “Integrating Africa” and “Improving the quality of life of people in Africa”, helping to realise the Bank’s vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and integrated Africa.