A recent feature by Abdo Maalaoui in Reveil Tunisien has uncovered a swindle involving international donor organizations regarding the construction of an airport at Enfidha. The feature claims that Tunisia presented donor organizations with false statistics of 5 million passengers at the opening and 30 million by 2038.
The feature claims that Tunisian government bureaucrats and politicians are profiting immensely from the project but the project could do long term damage to Tunisia because the scam with false statistics may be uncovered, hurting long term necessary development projects and also the fact that areas that do indeed require donor assistance are not being catered for.
Enfidha airport is located 60 kilometers north of the coastal town of Sousse. Engineering studies for the project began in 1999 following a direct agreement with Aéroports de Paris. According to the plans, the airport was scheduled to become operational this year with the costs f the first phase amounting to some US$ 210 million. A recent report said the Tunisian government hopes that a foreign company will operate the Enfidha airport. (menareport.com)
