Active Commercial AidData Chinese Aid

CCECC to fund Al Djorf – Ajim (Djerba) Bridge

Funder	China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC)
Recipient Organization	Government of Tunisia
Country	Tunisia
Start Date	Sep 01, 2018
End Date	Oct 22, 2029
Duration	4,069 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`56781`

Grant Description

On September 3, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and Tunisia during the Beijing Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum for China to construct a bridge linking Djerba, Tunisia’s main tourism island, to Djorf.

The project consists of building a new 2-km long bridge between Al-Jorf in mainland Tunisia and Ajim, in the southwest of the island of Djerba. The island of Djerba is a major tourist hub in Tunisia with two existing bridges linking it to the mainland.

The new bridge would cut the cost of running ferries, enhance accessibility to the island, and promote trade between the island and the mainland.

The execution of pre-feasibility studies on the Djerba bridge was to be entrusted to the Chinese state-owned enterprise CCECC, in collaboration with an unspecified Tunisian organization. CCEECC was also responsible for implementing the project. In January 2019, Zhongtu Company submitted the project pre-feasibility study on schedule.

The project was intended to be carried out over a period of three years, with a credit of approximately 300 million dollars (915 million dinars). In June 2019, the project was postponed after the carrying out of studies for the project over the prior 18 months.

The postponement decision was due to the delay in receiving the technical and economic efficiency study relating to this project, which was carried out by the Chinese company CCECC and handed over to the Tunisian party on April 13, 2019.

The postponement was also due in part to CCECC not "taking into account the remarks of the project's technical steering committee in its feasibility study," and the memorandum of understanding was cancelled in June 2019.

In April 2020, a meeting on the project was held, during which Chinese and Tunisian officials discussed a desire to speed up the implementation process of the project, and to engage in further consultations and studies on the implementation of this project.

In November 2020, Tunisia's Minister of Public Works, Housing and Infrastructure, Kamel Eddoukh, announced that in December 2020, a launch of the call for tenders for the feasibility study of the bridge project would occur.

The feasibility study, which was to be drawn up in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, was to encompass the economic, financial, social and environmental aspects of the project. As of October 2021, the financing details and implementation status of the project are uncertain. The project is also titled, 'Al Djorf – Ajim (Djerba) bridge'.

📋 Staff Comments

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation's (CCECC) level of investment in the project appears to have been cancelled. As of June 21, 2019, according to Transport Minister Hichem Ben Ahmed, the Tunisian side was awaiting the Chinese side's response on some recommendations presented by Tunisia for the projects signed on September 3, 2018 which include the bridge, a railway network (recorded in project ID#67386), an economic center in Zarzis (recorded in project ID#67385).

📚 Sources & References

Beijing strengthens its presence in the Maghreb
Partnership with China to help open new horizons in Tunisia
Tunisia BRI Projects
Tunisia-China: 2 MoU to develop infrastructure in south, car plant in Tunisia signed
Tunisia-China: 2 MoU to develop infrastructure in south, car plant in Tunisia signed
Projet de réalisation d’une la liaison de l’ile de Djerba avec le continent (Jorf-Ajim)
Al Djorf – Ajim (Djerba) bridge
Tunisia joins China’s Belt and Road Initiative as it seeks to diversify trade, investment
Government does not intend to back down on Tunisian-Chinese project in Zarzis (Hichem Ben Ahmed)
VISITE DES REPRÉSENTANTS DE LA SOCIÉTÉ CHINOISE CCECC À ZARZIS
Al Djorf - Ajim (Djerba) bridge
Tunisia-China: expedited implementation of infrastructure projects, such as El Jorf and Ajim bridge
Tenders for feasibility study of bridge between El Jorf and Djerba Ajim to be launched in December (minister)
The bridge project linking El Jorf to Djerba Ajim Postponed
Tunisia to float tenders for feasibility study of bridge project in December 2020 Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.