Tunisian State has received US $84m loan from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German development agency, to finance several solar and water management projects. in the country.
Out of the the total, US $24m has been allocated to the National Sanitation Office (Onas), intended for the implementation of Phase II of the Industrial Areas Remediation Programme.
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Industrial Areas Remediation Programme
The programme will see collection and treatment of wastewater discharged by plants to prevent it from discharging into wetlands and Mediterranean coasts. This will benefit industrial areas of Moknine, Ben Arous, Utica, Bizerte, Sfax, Enfidha, Oued El Bey, Monastir and Medjez El Bab.
KfW accompanied its loan with a grant of US $788,000 for technical assistance in the treatment and disposal of settling sludge from wastewater treatment. Part of the funds will enable Onas agents to carry out awareness campaigns for farmers on the recycling of sludge in agriculture. This waste can be used to produce biogas, a highly purified gas that can be used for cooking or heating.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries received funds for the Bou Heurtma dam elevation project and for the modernisation of the Medjerda canal. It is located in the governorate of Jendouba, in the northwest of the country. US $6m will be used to to protect the Sousse-El Kantaoui coastline from erosion and other effects of climate change.
Solar projects
On the other hand, US $45m in form of a loan accompanied by a grant of US $3.3m has been allocated to implement the Tunisian Solar Plan, which aims to reduce electricity consumption through the installation of about 100 solar photovoltaic systems. The implementation of this project has been entrusted to the National Agency for Energy Management (ANME).
