Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy Holds Meeting on Phosphate Transportation Project
The Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy held a follow-up meeting on April 16 to discuss the feasibility study of the integrated hydraulic phosphate transportation project, chaired by Minister Fatma Thabet Chiboub and attended by high-ranking officials from her department. This meeting is part of the agreement signed between the Gafsa Phosphate Company (CPG) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the financial arm of the World Bank, which is funding the study.
This ambitious project, estimated to cost 1.1 billion dinars, aims to create a phosphate transportation network in the form of slurry through pipelines connecting the Gafsa mining basins to the industrial sites of Skhira and Gabès. The goal is to modernize the logistics of Tunisian phosphate, with an annual capacity of 8 million tons of commercial phosphate transported.
The study aims to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of the project, examining innovative solutions, including the installation of a 100,000 m³/day seawater desalination plant, necessary for slurry production, and a 30 MW photovoltaic power plant to supply the project's infrastructure with clean energy.
During the meeting, IFC representatives participated remotely to discuss the progress of the study and coordination between the various stakeholders involved. The ministry highlighted the importance of this project in restructuring the phosphate sector, considered strategic for the Tunisian economy, and in transitioning to sustainable transportation and energy methods.
If the project materializes, it could reduce dependence on rail and road transportation, while improving the competitiveness of the Tunisian phosphate industry on international markets.
