Announcement of Tunisia to Improve Urban Transport on May 31, 1984

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ,World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A WORLD BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 84/84 Contact: Fawzi Rihane May 31, 1984 (202) 477-5325 TUNISIA TO IMPROVE URBAN TRANSPORT Tunisia plans to make major improvements in the transport services in Greater Tunis and Greater Sfax, the two largest urban areas in the country. The World Bank is supporting the project with a loan of $33 million. Urban public transport - mainly buses - is vital to the functioning of major Tunisian cities. In the mid-1970s, public transport accounted for about 70 percent of the daily traffic in Greater Tunis and for 36 percent in Greater Sfax. Since then private car traffic has grown considerably partly because of a decline in the quality of public transport services. The World Bank-assisted project will finance the building of a bypass to the east of Tunis, the capital. In Sfax, a maintenance facility with a capacity for 250 buses will be built, and bus stops and terminals will be improved. The project, which has a total cost of $82.5 million, will also finance the installation of a computer-based management information system that will help the Regional Transport Company of Sfax (SORETRAS) to maintain better service and staff schedules, and to manage its spare parts better. The computer system will also help to improve cost accounting systems and to integrate these with the financial accounts. A pilot national training program for urban transport workers will be carried out. Technical assistance will be provided to enable the Municipality of Tunis to implement traffic and parking management plans. Assistance will also be provided to SORETRAS for introducing and following up improved practices in operations, maintenance, and management. Transport planning studies will be made to integrate public transport, highway investment, and traffic management with urban development plans in Greater Tunis and Greater Sfax for the years 1990-2000. The World Bank loan is for 17 years, including four years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently at 10.08 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of 0.25 percent on the amount of the loan. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.