TUNIS - Visiting French and German Foreign Ministers, Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier went, on Friday, to the construction site of the Saida Manoubia tunnel, a component of a major project, co-funded by France and Germany through the French Development Agency (AFD) and the German bank "KFW."
The Tunnel of Saida Manoubia is part of the section of the E line of the rapid railway network of Tunis, connecting the Barcelona Station to Bougatfa over 6.3 kms.
The section of the E line and that of D line (Barcelona-Gobaa) station are part of the priority sections under construction.
The cost of this 18.5-km-long railway section is estimated at 950 million dinars.
The commissioning of these lines, which cross densely populated working class districts (Saida, Essijoumi and Ezzouhour) is scheduled for 2017.
Eventually, the rapid railway network project provides for the construction of 5 railway lines of 86 kms, with a capacity of 600,000 passengers per day for an initial cost of 1.5 billion euros, i.e. over 3 billion dinars.
The project is funded by the Tunisian state to the tune of 40%, while 60% is provided by a consortium of foreign donors, essentially Europeans, including the AFD, KFW and the European Investment Bank.
The lines will be operated by the Tunisian National Railway Company (SNCFT).
The ambassador of France said a contribution of 290 million euros has been made available to the project but will only be used if a French company wins the tender on rolling stock.
A presentation on the project was made to the French and German foreign ministers.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2014
