Mega projects that will change the face of Tunisia

A gain for the future generations:

A series of big projects are currently underway in Tunisia. These projects will boost the country’s economic activity, promote its urban modernization and infrastructure, and enhance its attractiveness as a tourist and investment site. They will also confer an added international dimension on Tunisia, offer investors a propitious and secure business climate, and create jobs.

“City of the Century”: The sky is the limit.

Labeled the « City of the Century », this major project will give birth to a new city in the Tunis southern lake area. It extends over 830 hectares, and involves the construction of towers, residential areas, seaside resorts, luxury hotels, multidisciplinary buildings including 100 store- high skyscrapers,   quays for yachts, as well as  sports and cultural spaces.

The founding stone of this project was laid, on August 6, 2007, by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The considerable volume of funds allocated to this project makes of this projects, the largest investment project in Tunisia. Sama Dubai, the real-estate wing of Dubai Holding, will invest 14 billion dollars (about 18 billion dinars) in the construction of this new city.

The Century City will provide space for the establishment of 2,500 firms. Fourteen luxury hotels with the latest cutting edge technological equipments are scheduled to be built , in addition to green spaces and a 14-kilometer promenade.

The project will generate an average annual flow of 1, 2 billion dinars over the 15-year duration of works, which will offer the country an additional 0.6 point in its average annual growth rate. It is also expected to provide some 140,000 direct jobs, with priority given to Tunisian expertise.

The new Enfidha  International Airport: 30, million passengers a year

The “Enfidha International Airport”, whose construction works have already been launched, is located 75 kilometers from the capital, and extends over 5,700 hectares.

With an expected annual 30-million passenger capacity, the new airport will help make of Tunisia an international pole for trade and services, equipped with a modern infrastructure for a new economy.

The new project will help alleviate the traffic pressure on the Tunis–Carthage International Airport, and give a fresh impetus to the economic activity of the whole region which embraces the rich Cap Bon region, including Hammamet and Nabeul, as well as the Tunisian Sahel region, spearheaded by the city of Sousse.

Following a feasibility study carried out by ADP (Aéroports de Paris) for an amount of 10 million Euros. The Turkish Group TAV Airport Holding Co, was chosen, following an international call for tenders, to undertake the construction, financing and operation for the next forty years, of the Enfidha Airport concession.

The Radès–La Goulette bridge: a dream come true

The new Rades—La Goulette Bridge construction project which is part of a cooperation agreement between by Tunisia and Japan, will cost an estimated 141 million dinars. Work started in August 2004, and the overall length of the bridge will cover a distance of 14.65 kilometers.

The project will establish a fast and direct connection between the northern and southern suburbs of Tunis. It will relieve traffic congestion at the northern access road to the capital, and establish a connection between the ports of Radès and La Goulette. The project comprises four components :

• A Main bridge : 260 meters
• A Southern  extension road : 2.6 kilometers
• An  Interchange
• A Northern extension road : 6.5 Kilometers.

“Tunis Sports City”: sports academies and recreational spaces

The Tunis Sports City Construction Project, whose implementation was launched in May 2008, is distinguished by its innovative character associating sports with integrated urbanism. The project is sponsored by the Emirati “Bukhatir Group”, as part of Tunisia-UAE partnership. It will give rise, in the Tunis southern lake area, to an impressive city extending over 255 hectares, with investments estimated at 6.5 billion dinars.

The project involves the construction of a state of the art multi-disciplinary sports pole, with a golf course and 9 sports academies for football, volleyball, basketball, handball, tennis, swimming, athletics and other disciplines. 36 hectares will be devoted to the construction of a 10,000-seat football stadium, a 5,000-seat polyvalent sports hall, and an Olympic swimming-pool. Internationally renowned professionals will offer training to young Tunisian and foreign athletes.

The other component of the project, extending over 119 hectares, involves the construction of residential areas, leisure and service facilities, luxury hotels, towers, prestigious villas, shopping malls and clinics.

“Bled El Ward” : A new Ariana

This project will be implemented in the region of Ariana by the Emirati investment company “Al Maabar”, with investments amounting to 10 billion dollars. It will extend over 5,000 hectares, including 2,600 hectares of lakes. The new city, labeled « Bled El Ward », former name of El Ariana, comprises an integrated modern city, including, in particular, a first-class health city, residential areas, tourist, leisure, commercial and sports centers, along with parks, green areas, and marinas equipped to dock large luxury yachts.

The implementation of this project will extend over twenty years, and will offer no less than 10,000 jobs. Consulting and study services will be entrusted to Tunisian experts.

Tunis Financial Port: the region’s  first of shore financial center

The Tunis Financial Port is economic development project implemented by the Qatar based Gulf Finance House, with investments amounting to 3 billion dollars. It is destined to become the first off-shore financial center in North Africa. The project will extend over 450 hectares in the region of Raoued (North of Tunis), and will comprise a corporate center, a center for banking investment and consulting, an insurance center, a transaction center, a marina and a commercial and residential complex. Works will be completed by 2010.

The project will help promote Tunisia to the level of a regional financial club. It will also allow Tunisia to join the international financial sphere and to reinforce its financial standing by developing high-quality offshore financial services.

The City of Culture: at the heart of the capital

Established over 9 hectares at the heart of Tunis , this ambitious architectural and cultural achievement, whose cost is estimated at 70 million dinars, involves the construction of theatre spaces, including an 1800-seat opera house, a 300-seat experimental theater, and 7 studios for musical, theatrical and dancing production. The City will also house a media library, an art and exhibition gallery, offices for culture-related businesses, and a museum of civilizations. Designers have opted for a modern architecture that draws its roots from our Arab-Muslim heritage.

The first phase of the City is being implemented over an area of 48,836 sq. meters. The second phase extends over an area of 22,000 sq. meters, and involves the construction of a national museum of civilizations that will offer visitors a journey through the different periods of Tunisia’s millenary history.

“Little Sicily”: an ambitious rehabilitation project

The project extends over 80 hectares and involves the renovation and urban rehabilitation of the neighborhood of “Little Sicily”. Bordered to the south by Bab Alioua, to the north by Habib Bourguiba Avenue, to the East by the port of Tunis, and to the west by Carthage Avenue, the project comprises a multi- storey parking lot, two tall twin-towers, a multimodal transport station, residential and administrative buildings, and cultural, social and commercial spaces. Tunisian consulting firms were involved in defining the broad lines of this project.