Announcement of Tunisia to Receive World Bank Assistance for Urban Development on December 20, 1982

(~~11mii~[] '•World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/31 Contact: Ciro Gamarra December 20, 1982 (202) 477-8034 TUNISIA TO RECEIVE WORLD BANK ASSIST.AJ.~CE FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT Tunisia will provide low-cost housing and urban services to poor families with the assistance of a $25 million loan, the World Bank announced today. The l~an to be drawn from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is the third to help finance urban development in Tunisia. The $60.1 million project includes comprehensive upgrading in four settlements and a sites and services housing credit scheme in. three of these settlements. A pilot program of upgrading and reconstruction of the Hafsia neighborhood in the Medina of Tunis and technical assistance will be also provided. Of the five project sites, three are in Greater Tunis: Hafsia, Ettadhamen-Douar Hicher, and Kram-Ouest in La Goulette; and two are in the Northwest region; Zghadia in Jendouba and Sidi Chrichi in Le Kef. The total area of these sites ranges from 13.5 hectares in Hafsia to 250 hectares in Ettadhamen-Douar Richer with populations ranging from 3,500 to 55,000. Some 77,000 people will benefit; about one quarter of these people live on incomes below the absolute poverty level. In designing the project, the Tunisian government has accepted the concepts of upgrading settlements instead of demolishing them, developing low-cost sites and services projects, and recovering the costs of services and improvements. The World Bank's first operation for urban development in .funisia was in 1973. This operation has resulted in improved traffic conditions in Tunis and supported the establishment of the District of Tunis, the first regional planning authority i.n the country. The second Bank operation included upgrading of sites and services in two low-income settlements in Tunis and three in Sfax. The IBRD loan is for 2( years, including three years of grace, with interest at a variable rate linked to the cost of borrowing. The loan also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75% on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of 1.5% on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.