The Phosphates Company of Gafsa (CPG) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement on Monday to finance, through a donation of TND 7 million, a study of an integrated project for pipeline transportation of commercial phosphate. The project aims to ensure a regular supply of commercial phosphate to CPG's factories and industrial water to the company's current and future washing plants, the Ministry of Economy and Planning said in a statement on Monday. It also includes a network of pipelines to transport phosphate from the assembly site in Métlaoui to CPG's factories in Gabès and Skhira, with an annual supply capacity of nearly 10 million tonnes of commercial phosphate. The project also includes the construction of a seawater desalination station and canals to transport water from the Skhira region to the CPG washing plants in the mining basin, with a production capacity of approximately 100,000 cubic metres of water per day. As part of the same project, a photovoltaic power plant with a production capacity of almost 30 megawatts will be installed to supply all the components (Project). During the signing ceremony, Minister of Economy and Planning, Samir Saied, stressed the importance of this project, which is estimated to cost around TND 1,100 million. Saied pointed out that this project, which is part of the 2023-2027 five-year plan, will have positive economic, environmental and social impacts in line with the policies and programmes of the 2023-2025 development plan. The CEO of CPG, Ridha Chalghoum, highlighted the strategic aspect of the integrated water phosphate transport project, which is part of the measures adopted at the meeting of the National Security Council on April 26. These measures are designed to boost the phosphate sector, taking into account its major contribution to Tunisia's economic and social development.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse