Announcement of Tunisia to Increase Agricultural Production with Twenty-Two Million Dollars World Bank Loan on May 27, 1982

FOR IMMEDIATf . RELEASE .. :•World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 82/101 Contact: Ciro Gamarra May 27, 1982 (202) 477-8034 TUNISIA TO INCREASE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION WITH $22 MILLION WORLD BANK LOAN Efforts to increase agricultural production in Tunisia will receive assistance from a $22 million World Bank loan. The loan will provide funds for a development project in which emphasis will be placed on improving .irrigation works and marketing facilities in the re- gions of Medjerda near Tunis and Nebhana near Sousse. The implementing agencies for the $55.1 million project, the Medjerda Valley Deve1~pment Agency and the Nebhana Development Agency, expect to increase the production of vegetables, fruit, f6rage, industrial crops, livestock, and milk. Some 7,800 farmers from the two areas will benefit from the improvements to be made under the projert. Irrigation works in the two areas have been rehabilitated with help • from a previous $12.2 million World Bank loan made in 1974. The second project will enable the Medjerda Valley Development Agency to extend facilities to another 2,400 hectares and improve the distribution network on 500 hectares. In Nebhana, the pumping stations will be improved at Ain Kebrite, Bled Sisseb, and Ain Bou Mo~rra,and an additional pumping station will be built.~~ Oued Aich. Measures will also be taken to reduce water losses through the prov1s1on \?f hydrant:,, pressure and flow regulators, meters, and pipes. P.eservoirs will be ~~Jit and an extension will be added to the main pipeline in order to improve water di s,t r i but ion. The project wilj also provide farm access roads, fruit and v~getable processing centers, cold stores, and milk collection centers. The World Bank loan is for 17 years, including four years of grace, with interest at 11.6% a year; the loan also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75% on undisbursed balances, and includes a front-end fee of 1.5% on the amount of the loan. NOTE: ~oney figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.