The Transport Minister, Rachid Amri, carried out, on Wednesday 17 June 2026, a field visit in the governorate of Bizerte to monitor the operation of several structures belonging to the transport sector and to assess the progress of ongoing projects in the region.
This visit notably concerned the Bizerte Regional Transport Company, the Technical Agency for Land Transport, the National Railway Company of Tunisia as well as several facilities related to road, rail and port transport.
The minister was accompanied by the Governor of Bizerte, Salem Ben Yacoub, as well as several ministry executives, regional managers and representatives of the concerned public companies.
An expected strengthening of the bus fleet
During this visit, Rachid Amri reaffirmed the ministry’s willingness to enable the governorate of Bizerte to benefit from its share under the contract for the acquisition of 461 new buses.
He also indicated that the region’s transport fleet should be reinforced by a new tranche within the framework of a forthcoming second contract, comprising 621 buses.
The minister, in this context, called for improving the service to the various zones of the governorate to ensure greater efficiency of these investments, particularly concerning school and university transport.
Recommendations for the Bizerte Regional Transport Company
Regarding the Bizerte Regional Transport Company, the minister recommended accelerating the procedures relating to the permanent retirement of out-of-service buses, called “vehicles to be reformed,” in coordination with the regional directorate of the Technical Agency for Land Transport of Bizerte. This operation should be finalized no later than the end of June 2026.
He also insisted on the need to improve working spaces in the various maintenance workshops of the company, notably regarding cleanliness, necessary equipment, working conditions and safety.
Rachid Amri also called to accelerate the integration of the different modules of the company’s information system, in order to improve management and facilitate decision-making.
The use of a GPS fleet tracking system was also highlighted, in particular to ensure real-time monitoring of compliance with the maximum permitted speed.
The minister also recommended accelerating recruitment procedures for technical agents and drivers to reinforce transport services in the region and in the delegations that fall under it.
Redevelopment of the land transport station
Regarding the Technical Agency for Land Transport, Rachid Amri called to speed up the processing of the redevelopment file of the Bizerte land transport station, in coordination with the Ministry of Equipment and Housing and the governorate of Bizerte.
He also recommended improving the working conditions for agents, notably by setting up a dedicated office for the National Intercity Transport Company within the station.
The minister also called to consider dedicating the land belonging to the land transport station to a station for collective taxis “louage”.
He further stressed the need to facilitate access to the various services intended for Tunisians living abroad.
Measures for the Bizerte commercial port
The visit also allowed examining the situation at the Bizerte commercial port. The Minister of Transport recommended installing directional signs for containers and clarifying the directions within the various spaces of the port.
He also called for in a second stage the digitization of this device and its connection to the timekeeping system, to facilitate container management, reduce their stay duration and accelerate their removal.
Other recommendations include the installation of signage inside the port, the removal of waste accumulated as quickly as possible, as well as the cleaning and maintenance of the rail track, in coordination with the National Railway Company of Tunisia.
Monitoring the status of the railway station
At the Bizerte railway station, the minister called for removing the weeds around the track to ensure better operating conditions.
He also recommended holding a working session with the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries, as soon as possible, regarding the immobilized wagons owned by CGC, to resolve this issue.
The minister also authorized the National Railway Company of Tunisia to take the necessary measures regarding the 1.8 km railway link with the Ciments de Bizerte company.
A working session should be organized on this matter before the end of June 2026, with a view to commissioning at the beginning of 2027.
A railway line to be cleaned inside the steel plant
Rachid Amri also called on the National Railway Company of Tunisia to clean the inner portion of the railway track at the steel plant, over a length of 350 meters.
This operation should be carried out in coordination with the plant management, to guarantee the transport of goods by rail under good safety conditions and to reduce delays.
The exterior parts of the track should be completed after settling land issues, in coordination with the governorate of Bizerte.
According to the presented data, among about 4,000 tonnes of materials destined for the plant and no longer in use, 1,000 tonnes of deteriorated materials from the Transport Ministry’s structures have already been transferred, including 800 tonnes originating from buses.
A visit focused on modernizing regional transport
This visit is part of the monitoring of transport projects in the governorate of Bizerte and the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the minister’s previous visit to the region.
It aims, in particular, to improve the quality of public transport services, strengthen the governance of the concerned structures, modernize the infrastructures and accelerate projects related to land, rail and port transport.
