Announcement of Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars Loan for Ports in Tunisia on November 27, 1968

•- 1818 H STREET. N.W .. WASHINGTON D, C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Jank Press Release No. 68/67 Subject: $8.5 million loan for ports November 27, 1968 in Tunisia Improvement of three of Tunisia's four major ports, La Goulette, Bizerte and Sfax, will be undertaken with the assistance of a World Bank loan of ~8.5 million. The new facilities and equipment will result in lower shipping costs, faster turn-around of ships and improved operating efficiency. This is the second port loan made by the Bank in Tunisia. A loan of $7 million in 1964 financed the improvement and expansion of La Goulette, part of the port complex serving Tunis. La Goulette, with a capacity of • about 900,000 tons of general cargo, has reliev_ed congestion at the old wharves at Tunis from which the bulk of the traffic is being progressively divertedo Following the first loan, the Government ~stablis;hed the Office des Ports Nationaux Tunisiens (OPNT) as an independent authority responsible for the operation, development and maintenance of the ports of Bizerte-Menzel Bourguiba, Tunis-La Goulette, Sousse and Sfax. OPNT will be the beneficiary of the loan announced today and part of the funds will be used for consultant's services to assist OPNT in accounting and financial management. The project consists of a number of elements designed to bring about more efficient operations: dredging to increase the depth and width in entrance channels and approaches and alongside bulk facilities at La Goulette and B izerte, to per.11it access of large bulk-oil an<i ore carriers; provision of a small suction dredger and attendant tug for maintenance dredging of OPNT's • ports; provision of cargo-handling equipment including tractors, forklift /more Bank No. 68/67-Tunisia-Ports - 2 - trucks and mobile cranes at La.Goulette and Sfax, and the rehabilitation of seven 7-ton portal quay cranes at La Goulette; restoration of the island • breakwater at Bizerte to assure adequate protection inside the trarhor; and construction of a new bulk-grain berth and storage installation on the south side of La Goulette harbor. The project is expected to take four years to complete at a total esti- mated cost equivalent to $10. 7 million. It will be carried out by OPNT with the assistance of consultants. The Bank loan will finance the foreign ex- change requirements and the local currency costs will be financed by OPNT. Contracts for procurement of equipment and execution of dredging and other works will be let on the basis of international competitive bidding. In 1967 OPNT's four ports handled about 7.5 million tons of cargo, which included general cargo (1.2 million tons), phosphates and fertilizer (2.5 mil- lion), cereals (425,000), crude oil and petroleum products (1,980,000), iron • ~re (830,000), and miscellaneous items. This traffic is expected to increase to 11 million tons by 1972. The project now being undertaken will enable the ports to handle this traffic more efficiently and at less cost. The loan will be made to the Office des Ports Nationaux Tunisiens with the guarantee of the Government of Tunisia. It will be for a term of 30 years, including 10 years~ of grace, with interest at 6-1/2%. - 0 - •