JICA will develop eleven projects in Tunisia

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with Tunisia to finance 11 medium-sized loans to Tunisia, while it prepares three other financial agreements to be signed between them.
The sealed agreement will produce a financial package of 4,4 million dinars for development projects in Tunisia, according to a source working with the Japanese agency and familiar with the dossier. The source said that several projects will be financed by the agreement, amongst which is the financing of sewage networks in several particular regions of the country. This project is to be executed in cooperation with the National Sanitation Utility (ONAS). Among other projects to be financed is the establishment of half a billion dinar Tunisian-Japanese technology hub in Borj Cedria, a southern suburb of Tunis. The project is expected to create employment in the country. The loan payment for this project will be activated after a seven-year grace period.
There are plans to build an electric generator in Rades and a project to stop the Medjerda river from overflowing its banks, but preliminary studies have to be accomplished first. According to the source, the subsidiary of JICA in Tunisia will be carrying out the studies. The two partners, JICA and the Tunisian government, will also be signing new agreements between them next year. The total amount for these projects is yet to be established, and one of them includes the construction of a desalination station is Sfax with the ambitions of developing water distribution and production.
JICA is Japan’s body that oversees the implementation of government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) program and cooperation with other countries. It also participates in disaster aid and sends Japanese Overseas Volunteers (JOCV).