• Create industrial and technological complex
  
• Implement programme to fight desertification and desert encroachment
  
• Launch the rehabilitation of Tataouine tourist area

CARTHAGE, Oct. 14, 2009 (TAP) - President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali chaired, on Wednesday morning, the special session of the Regional Council of the Governorate of Tataouine, as part of following up the development process in regions and the sustained keenness to strengthen and enrich it and improve the living conditions of inhabitants.

The Head of State opened the Council's works by an address in which he announced a set of additional measures designed to enhance the development process in the Governorate of Tataouine and involving the fields of agriculture, integrated development, industrial and technological development, tourist development, basic infrastructure, human resources and social development, in addition to improving living conditions.

The President of the Republic ordered, in this regard, what follows:

--First: Agriculture and Integrated Development

-//To establish a programme to promote irrigated farming and to expand the region's palm-groves. This programme will involve:

- Conducting technical studies on creating a new area of palm-groves and irrigated perimeters over 1,000 hectares in the regions of "Borj Bourguiba," "Lourezt" and "Bir Zar," so as to enhance the region's contribution to irrigated and oasis farming.

-Creating irrigated perimeter in "El Mgassem" over 45 hectares.

-Laying down 40 kilometres of rural tracks in the irrigated perimeters of "Mzar" and "northern Tataouine-Nord."

-//To implement the second phase of the project to afforest the hills around the town of "Tataouine" over an area of 2,000 hectares.

- Carrying out a project to check run-off water and to preserve water and soil in the zones of "Maztouria," "Ressifa" and "Beni Bilal" (northern Tataouine and southern Tataouine).

-// Implementing a programme to fight desertification and desert encroachment in the regions of "Essmar," "Remada" and "Bir Lahmar."

-// Carrying out the second phase of the farming and pastoral development project and encouraging local initiative in terms of cattle-breeding and pastoral development, and providing the necessary facilities.

-//Implementing three integrated development projects in the regions of "northern Tataouine," "southern Tataouine" and "Ghomrassen."

-- Second: Industrial and Technological Development:

- To create an industrial and technological complex composed of a 20-hectare industrial area, a technological area of 3,000 sq. m., a service area of 2,500 sq. m., and three industrial buildings covering 6,000 sq. m.

- To establish a remote labour centre in "Remada" and launch the operation of the remote labour centre in "northern Tataouine."

- To create two "handicrafts villages" in "Tataouine" and "Ghomrassen," and provide a real-estate reserve in "Ghomrassen" and "Bir Lahmar."

- To reduce by 75% the rental tax currently applied to the exploiting of quarries.

- To organise, in 2010, a colloquium to identify and make known the region's investment projects.

- To create a branch of the technopole in order to make best use of the Saharan wealth and to intensify scientific research on the use of the Sahara's assets in terms of natural and aromatic plants and animal wealth.

-- Third: Tourist Development:

- To launch the rehabilitation of the Tataouine tourist area over 30 hectares to expand the "Tozeur," "Douz" and "Djerba" tourist centres.

- To asphalt the "Guermassa-Ksar Ghilane" tourist road over a distance of 43 kilometres, which will link the region to the Sahara circuit.

- To develop and rehabilitate the tourist sites of "Douiret" and "Guermassa."

- To implement a second phase of the project to safeguard and restore the "Chenini" site in "southern Tataouine."

- To rehabilitate the tourist geological track linking "Ghomrassen" to "Ksar Hdadda" over a distance of seven kilometres.

- To develop and rehabilitate the Berber Ksours as part of a tourist circuit that includes "Tataouine," "Ghomrassen," "Guermassa," "Chenini," "Douiret" and "Ksar Ouled Soltane."

- To establish a museum to enhance the tourist sector and highlight the Saharan heritage and the region's specific natural and cultural characteristics.

- To include the municipality of "Tataouine" within the field of action of the Fund to Protect Tourist Areas.

-- Fourth: Basic Infrastructure:

- To launch the rehabilitation and enlargement of the road from "Tataouine" to "Remada."

- To rehabilitate and enlarge the road from "Bir Lahmar" to "Ghomrassen."

- To build a bridge over "Oued Graguer."

- To start building hydraulic works on "Oued Er-roussa" in "Dhehiba."

- To asphalt the "Ez-zahra-Maabed" (northern Tataouine) track, the "Goraat Helal-El Morra" (Essmar) track, the "Ouediat-Abd El Ounis" (Essmar) track and the "El Briga" (Remada) track.

-- Fifth: Human Resources and Social Development:

- To create an emergency service in the Tataouine regional hospital, an emergency service in "Essmar" and a basic healthcare centre in the "Al-Mahrajane" district (northern Tataouine).

- To purchase four ambulances.

- To establish a culture centre in the region of "Essmar" and complete the second phase of the culture centre in "Dhehiba."

- To build a public library in "Ksar Ouled Dabbab," in southern Tataouine.

- To cover the Ibn Mandhour playing field in southern Tataouine with artificial turf.

- To rehabilitate and improve the playing fields of "Essmar," "Dhehiba" and "Remada."

- To enlarge and air-condition the residence area in the youth complex in the "Al-Mahrajane" district (northern Tataouine).

- To improve the camping centre in "Douiret" (southern Tataouine) and establish a children's club in "Dhehiba."

-- Sixth: Improving Living Conditions:

- To provide drinking water to 318 families in the zones of "Onk-El Jmal," "El Bnaya," the "El Jorf" district, "Ez- zahra", "Lobbiten" and "November 7" district (southern Tataouine), 78 families in the zones of "Tounekt", "Er-ragba", "Beni Barka" and "Masrab" (southern Tataouine), 30 families in the El-Farch" zone (Ghomrassen), 78 families in "Rehach," "Essmar," "Kerchaou" and "Garaat Helal" (Essmar), 39 families in the zones of "Bouhnich," "Zahafi" and "Grar Ouled Yahia" (Bir Lahmar), and 33 families in the "Nekrif" zone(Remada).

- To provide solar electricity in rural areas for 220 families.

- To enlarge the sanitation networks of "Tataouine" and "Ghomrassen" for 5,000 inhabitants.

- To lay down sanitation pipelines for another 5,000 inhabitants in the zones of "Taïeb Mehiri" and "Gharghar" in downtown Tataouine.

- To rehabilitate the "Gharghar" zone (southern Tataouine) and the "April 9" zone (Bir-Lahmar).

Then, the Governor and the Regional Council members took the floor, reviewing the specifics of development action in the region of Tataouine and raising urgent concerns of some localities of the governorate.

In this regard, the Head of State decided a set of additional measures involving what follows:

- Increasing by 300 the number of subsidies served to needy families.

- Purchasing three buses for the benefit of local youth

- Restoring the city of Tataouine's Old Mosque and rehabilitating Chenini's Old Mosque.

- Raising the annual presidential subsidies for maintenance of Saharan Ksours from 100,000 to 170,000 dinars.

- Providing 20 income sources for needy disabled persons able to work.

- Asphalting the "El Mazar" track in Ghomrassen.

- Developing an accommodation space within the "Dhehiba" youth centre.

- Developing streets of the "Ettrayfeya" and "March 2" districts and electrifying of the latter.

In consideration for the sustained presidential attention paid to the Governorate of Tataouine since the advent of the Change, the Governor made an address, at the end of the session, in which he expressed, on behalf of the Council members and local citizens, gratitude to the Head of State for his continuous support to the Governorate of Tataouine in its development process, be it through development plans implemented or by means of additional programmes and measures taken for its benefit.

He also reiterated their commitment to redouble efforts to win more bets and make more gains, and their attachment to President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to keep on leading Tunisia towards more progress and prosperity.