France mobilises more than 1.1 billion dinars for Tunisian cities
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Presse de Tunisie
The French Development Agency has mobilised more than 1.1 billion dinars since 1992 for urban rehabilitation in Tunisia, with more than 1,200 neighbourhoods rehabilitated and 14 historic centres renovated. Nearly one in three Tunisians has benefited from these projects, according to data from the French Embassy in Tunisia and the Research Institute for Development in the Mediterranean.
The French Development Agency (AFD) has mobilised more than 1.1 billion dinars over around 30 years to finance urban rehabilitation in Tunisia, according to the French Embassy in Tunisia and the Research Institute for Development (IRD). The funding has enabled more than 1,200 neighbourhoods to be rehabilitated and 14 historic centres to be renovated, as part of Franco-Tunisian cooperation presented on 31 October for World Cities Day.
Nearly one in three Tunisians has benefited since 1992 from projects intended to improve the urban living environment, according to the same institutions. The cooperation also covers water management and sanitation, the renovation of historic centres and the development of urban transport.
The IRD is also running 12 research programmes covering 11 themes, including flood management, crisis governance, relations between cities and ports, wastewater treatment and urban transport. The work involves around 30 Tunisian and French researchers in Greater Tunis, Gabès, Sfax, Sousse, Zaghouan, Tabarka and Ghar El Melh.
The urbanisation rate in Tunisia stood at 70% in 2023, compared with 82% in France, according to the French Embassy and the IRD.
