German bank to fund $96m Tunisia water project

Tunisia  signed a €82 million ($96 million) loan agreement with Germany’s KfW Development Bank to finance a water project, the Anadolu Agency reported.

The agreement was signed by Tunisian Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation, Ziyad Al-Athari, and the Director of KfW’s office in Tunis, Sven Neunsinger.

The loan will be used to finance a water desalination plant in the town of Zarat in the Gabès Governorate.

Interest on the loan is expected to be 1.86 per cent payable over 15 years with a five-year grace period.

The project is estimated to cost €96.5 million ($112.6 million), is due to be completed by the end of 2018 and will become operational in 2021.

The Tunisian government will contribute €14.5 million ($17 million) to the project.

Al-Athari said “the project will contribute to providing drinking water to 1.145 million residents by 2035 in the southern states of Gabes, Medenine and Tataouine.”

He added that the desalination plant will have a capacity of 50,000 cubic metres per day which could reach up to 100,000 cubic metres by 2027.

According to the minister, the German Bank has allocated €300 million ($351.8 million) to finance water projects in Tunisia.

TunisianMonitorOnline (MEMO)

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