The United Arab Emirates-headquartered Bukhatir Group announced on Tuesday the official relaunch of Tunis Sports City mega project, located in the capital of Tunisia. 

The announcement was made at a press conference by Salah A Bukhatir, Chairman of the Sharjah-based Bukhatir Group, and Afif Bejaoui, the CEO of the group’s Tunisian subsidiary. 

The Group said in a press statement that the Sports City will cover an area of 250 hectares on the northern shores of the Lac de Tunis, and include a stadium, four sports academies, a 9-hole golf course (in partnership with the PGA), six hotels, a 20 hectare-central park with pedestrian walkways, a residential compound consisting of villas and terraced buildings, a mall, a business zone, and a three-kilometre-long corniche with entertainment, and water sports facilities. 

On 10 March, Africanews.com had reported that the first stage of the project, which includes the Golf course, is set to be ready by 2026 and entire project would be completed in 2031. 

On 4 March 2022, a Reuters report, quoting sources, said the $5 billion development would be the first big project in the North African country since the 2011 revolution. The report said the project is expected initially to provide about 10,000 jobs in the country, where unemployment is more than 18 percent. 

In July 2009, UAE-based English language newspaper Khaleej Times had reported that Sports Cities International, a unit of the Bukhatir Group, had started work on the project with a completion timeline of 2024. The report noted the Bukhatir Group has a 33 per cent stake in Dubai Sports City.   

The mega project had been stalled for 15 years due to the 2008 global financial crisis, Tunisia's 2011 Arab Spring protests, and political and economic instability in the country, according to multiple news reports by Reuters and AFP.  

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon) 

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)