Tunisia: AfDB approves a loan of 104 million euros for the implementation of the 2nd phase of Pmir II in Tunisia

Tunis / Tunisia – The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a loan of 104 million euros (equivalent to 330 million dinars) for the implementation of the 2nd phase of the road infrastructure modernization program ( PMIR II) in Tunisia.

The Group’s board of directors approved this loan on December 17 in Abidjan, the ADB said in a statement on Tuesday.

The “PMIR II” program aims to set up an efficient and sustainable transport system capable of developing intra and interregional trade. It aims to ensure greater accessibility to priority regions and the country’s main development poles in order to support growth and provide conditions conducive to youth employment, according to the same source.

The project also aims to rehabilitate and modernize more than 230 kilometers of classified roads in the governorates of Gafsa, Kairouan, Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid and Siliana.

It will also contribute to the periodic maintenance of 1,000 kilometers of roads, part of which will be provided by 80 microenterprises created for this purpose. It will also support the development of a 2×2 lane road on the RN2 linking Enfidha to Kairouan.

By 2026, this new operation will help to better integrate the territories by improving access to the road network for 700,000 users ”, declared the Director General of the ADB for North Africa, Mohamed El Azizi.

It will reduce by more than half the average duration of journeys on the RN2. Almost 1,800 new jobs will be created. This is a new step in a fruitful cooperation that has modernized over 70% of Tunisia’s classified road network over the past decade.

According to the bank, the project is in line with the African Development Bank’s “High 5” strategic priorities.

It is part of the Bank’s 2013-2022 Ten-Year Strategy, which aims to lay the foundations for sustainable and inclusive growth on the continent.

The active portfolio of the African Development Bank Group in Tunisia amounted to 1.8 billion euros as of November 30, 2021. It covers the sectors of health, social development, water, agriculture. , energy, transport, industry, digital and finance.