Announcement of Tunisia Borrows Twenty-Seven Million Seven Hundred Thousand US Dollars for Irrigation Project on July 18, 1985

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 86/8 Contact: Fawzi Rihane July 18, 1985 (202) 477-5325 TUNISIA BORROWS $27.7 MILLION FOR IRRIGATION PROJECT Tunisia is investing $58.3 million in an irrigation project in the east central part of the Governorate of Gabes. The World Bank is providing a loan of $27.7 million. The project, at full development, will help increase the production of fruits and vegetables by about 70,000 tons, benefit some 7,700 farm families, and create about 1,900 full-time jobs in agriculture. The project provides for the rehabilitation of 42 selected oases covering 4,800 hectares (ha) and for the expansion of the irrigated area by about 200 ha. An extension system to be managed along the lines of the training and visit system will be introduced. Staff and equipment will be provided for the Gabes and Medenine Irrigation Development Office, the executing agency for the project. And training will be provided for the agency's staff. The government will provide $8.4 million towards the cost of the project; the National Bank of Tunisia, $2.9 million; and the beneficiaries, $5 million. The World Bank loan is for 17 years, including four years of grace, a variable interest rate, currently 8.82 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on undisbursed balances. NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.