Several legal texts governing the Ben Guerdane Free Zone for commercial and logistics activity are being drafted in order to ease procedures and speed up the project’s implementation, said on Friday the Minister of Trade and Export Development, Samir Abid.
During a two-day working visit to Medenine, the minister specified that a detailed action plan, accompanied by a precise timetable, is also being prepared to complete the project within the deadlines. He called for strengthening coordination among the various stakeholders to remove potential obstacles.
Included in the land corridor project linking Tunisia to several African countries, the free zone aims to further integrate border regions into the national economic circuit and to reinforce Tunisia’s role as a commercial platform between Africa and Europe.
The Governor of Medenine, Walid Taboubi, highlighted the economic and logistical importance of the project, notably for exchanges with Libya and African markets. He proposed establishing an operations room equipped with a unified dashboard, a monitoring calendar, and a clear allocation of responsibilities.
According to the chairman of the board of the Project Management Unit, Jamal Eddine El Fahem, the works are progressing satisfactorily. The project is currently at the stage of finalizing external infrastructures and launching internal development.
Spanning 150 hectares, the free zone will be organized into three areas: a customs-controlled logistics zone, representing 70% of activity and dedicated to export, import, and transit; bonded commercial spaces (20%) intended for wholesale and retail trade; and duty-free spaces (10%) reserved for services and administrative activities.
