Tunisia - Barbara Dam Project

The Barbara dam project answers a pressing need and is in line with the overall objectives of the economic and social development programme of the Tunisian Government, of which the development of agricultural production is one of the principal goals. It fits into the Water Masterplan for the North. The project consists in the construction of a dam-reservoir of a total capcity of 74 million m3; a pumping station followed by a delivery pipe and culvert for transferring water to the Medjerda Wadi basin. Implementation of the works also requires the construction of access roads as well as the carrying out of a programme of resettlement of displaced persons. Water made available through the project will make it possible to maintain and improve the irrigation of 77,000 existing hectares, 20,378 new ha to be established in the same region, implementation of which is to be done in the coming ten years. The water mobilized will also contribute to the improvement of the quality water. As an integral part of the Water Masterplan for the North, the project will also help to make drinking water of better quality accessible to a large population, with all that this entails in terms of its favourable impact on health and living standards, environmental protection, which is definitely more favourable to the development of tourist activities.