Tunisia: new EUR 140 million commitment in support of economic and social development

Today in Brussels, Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Abdelhamid Triki, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, announced a EUR 140 million (TND 275 million) loan promoting economic development and employment in Tunisia in a further demonstration of the EIB’s specific commitment to supporting the Mediterranean countries in transition, which was strongly reaffirmed at the G8 summit in Deauville. 

The large-scale industrial project financed consists of the construction of a fertiliser plant on the Mdhilla site (in the Gafsa mining region) by the Tunisian Chemicals Group, the world’s fourth biggest phosphates producer, with the following key objectives:

• The production of sulphuric acid (capacity of 600 kt/year) and phosphoric acid (capacity of 200 kt/year) to increase the output of the existing triple superphosphate (TSP) fertiliser plant but also to make flexibility gains and be able to switch between TSP and phosphoric acid, meeting market demand better;
• Creation of a substantial number of jobs (estimated at around 1 400 during the construction phase then 400 permanent direct jobs on site, plus the indirect jobs generated, in a disadvantaged region with high unemployment;
• Environmentally friendly industrial development: the new plant will be built closer to the phosphate mines and to the highest environmental standards.

Of particular importance for economic development and social cohesion in Tunisia, this signature was described by EIB Vice-President Philippe de Fontaine Vive in these terms: “This second post-Deauville loan – which comes shortly after the first signed in Tunis on 24 June – reflects our firm commitment to helping the people of Tunisia with swift and practical action. Job creation is our top priority, especially in disadvantaged regions like Gafsa, in order to provide young people with hope for the future. This is why we are supporting projects with strong industrial potential that act as genuine levers of economic growth and social integration in Tunisia.” 

This loan demonstrates the EIB’s ability to take quick and effective action in a strategic sector for Tunisia’s economy: the phosphates industry accounts for more than 2.6% of the country’s GDP, providing additional export revenues into the bargain. It is further evidence of the EIB’s concrete support for the Mediterranean countries’ democratic transition. It is only fourth months since the Deauville G8 summit and two loans totalling EUR 300 million (nearly TND 600 million) in support of employment and economic development in Tunisia have been signed already.

True to its undertaking at the G8 summit in Deauville, the EIB will continue to provide a sustained practical response to the aspirations voiced in the Arab spring: by giving increased backing to projects that create jobs, the number one priority in these countries faced with high unemployment; fostering an entrepreneurial culture by supporting small businesses and encouraging research, development and innovation; and assisting economic and social integration with the aim achieving balanced development focusing particularly on isolated regions with no infrastructure or effective means of communication. The EIB has decided to dedicate EUR 6 billion to the Mediterranean region by 2013, including EUR 3.5 billion for Egypt and Tunisia.

Note to editors:

The EIB, the leading financial investor in the Mediterranean

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union’s financial institution and the leading financial investor in the Mediterranean through FEMIP (the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership), which provides practical support for economic and social development in the Mediterranean with the aim of improving people’s living conditions.

Since FEMIP was created in 2002, the EIB has been constantly increasing the quality and diversity of its action in the Mediterranean region, playing a role as a financial catalyst by attracting other investors in its wake. Since 2002 it has mobilised investment worth more than EUR 12.6 billion (TND 25.2 billion) in support of these countries. 

By increasing its business volume to a record EUR 2.6 billion (TND 3.2 billion) in 2010 – a 60% rise on 2009 – FEMIP once again demonstrated to its Mediterranean partners its ability to support the drive to modernise their economies and reaffirmed its position as the leading financial investor in the Mediterranean.