Tav Tunisia Signs the Enfidha Airport Project With Its Lenders

27 February 2009
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)
press release

Tunis — The project consists of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the new Enfidha Zine El Abidine Ben Ali International Airport for an initial capacity of 7 million passengers, and the operation and maintenance of the existing Monastir Airport. The Enfidha airport construction is well underway and the airport is expected to start commercial operations in October 2009. Both Airports will serve the major tourism areas of Monastir, Sousse and Hammamet, which are all located on the Mediterranean coast.

Given current constraints on international financial markets, the required financing could not be raised from commercial banks as initially planed. Development financial institutions including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (ADB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Proparco, and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) are therefore providing the long term financial resources critical to the project's success.

The sponsor, TAV from Turkey, is a regional airport operator with a recognized track record of delivering similar construction works. It currently operates 8 airports in Turkey, Georgia and Tunisia.

The Enfidha Project is one of the centerpiece elements of Tunisia's 11th economic development program to upgrade its core economic infrastructure. The project is the first Public Private Partnership airport concession undertaken in the Maghreb region and Tunisia's largest private infrastructure project. It has created about 2,200 direct jobs during its construction phase and is expected to create 1,200 direct jobs during operations. A further 10,000 indirect jobs will be created in the local private sector.

Highlighting the importance of the Enfidha Airport in infrastructure development in Tunisia, Ms. Hela Cheikhrouhou, manager for Infrastructure Finance at the Private Sector Department of the African Development Bank, 'indicated that the project will expand trade links, exports and tourism; promote regional integration and boost the competitiveness of Tunisian air transport sector.' She added that 'the Enfidha project is therefore well aligned with the African Development Bank's mandate to support the development of private infrastructure in Africa.'

IFC helped design a robust financing package for the project and ensure compliance with world-class environmental and social standards. IFC also worked to strengthen the two airport concessions by partially financing and mobilizing the balance of the financing through its syndications program.

"Improving infrastructure through increased private sector participation is a priority for IFC in the Middle East and North Africa. We are pleased to partner with the African Development Bank in this landmark project, which will create jobs, promote south-south investment flows and help spur economic growth. It also demonstrates the countercyclical role institutions such as IFC and the AfDB play in the current turbulent environment," said Yasser Charafi, IFC Investment Officer.

Since 2003, the African Development Bank has approved the funding of USD 500 million for the development of transport infrastructure in Africa by the private sector. The projects, which include ports, roads and airports, have been financed in various forms comprising corporate finance, project finance and Public-Private Partnerships. Recently, the African Development Bank has contributed USD 80 million to the Lekki Ekpe-Expressway Toll Road project in Nigeria, USD 120 million, to the Damietta port container terminal in Egypt and USD 80 million to the Doraleh port terminal container in Djibouti.

List of Signatories:

TAV Tunisia : Haluk Bilgi, Chief Executive Officer

AfDB: Hela Cheikhrouhou, Manager, Infrastructure Finance, Private Sector Department

IFC: Yasser Charafi, Investment Officer

BEI: Diedrick Zambon, Local Representative

Proparco: Roger Goudiard, Local Representative

SocGen: Mehdi Elleuch, Merchant Banking Officer

OFID / ABN Amro / Standard Bank: Maitre Ayoub Knani, Ferchiou & Associates Meziou Knani Lawyers

Documents

AfDB Private Sector in Transport Infrastructure - Bridging Transport Infrastructure Gap in Africa (1.6 MB)

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