Tunisia - The Enfidha Airport Project (the "Main Tranche")

The Enfidha Airport Project is part of airport infrastructure modernization and expansion initiatives in Tunisia. Indeed, Tunisia's two current airports, located in the north-east of the country, are either already saturated (Monastir Airport) or close to saturation (Tunis Carthage Airport). The project entails the construction, operation, and maintenance of a new airport in Enfidha, as well as the operation and maintenance of the existing Monastir Airport, in a standard project finance structure, under a 40-year Concession Contract. This project is the first concession in terms of transport in Tunisia and the first airport concession in the Maghreb region. The Enfidha concession agreement provides for a four phase construction program. The first phase, which is the subject of this support, concerns: (i) the rehabilitation and operation and maintenance of the existing Monastir Airport (which handled 4.2 million passengers in 2007) and (ii) the construction, operation and maintenance of the new Enfidha Zine El Abidine Ben Ali International Airport with an initial capacity of 7 million passengers. Both airports will serve the main tourist areas of Monastir, Sousse and Hammamet, located on the Mediterranean coast. Enfidha Airport is designed to provide a level of IATA Category B services.