(TAP) - Investors in the governorate of Kairouan are eagerly waiting for the completion of work of the Sbikha 2 industrial zone.

The governorate has six industrial zones, located in Kairouan, Sbikha, Hajeb El Ayoun and Oueslatia. The construction of the Sbikha 2 zone, on an area of 100 hectares, will be a great addition to the region and a boost to investment in the region, says head of the maintenance and management complex in the Sbikha industrial zone Sami Hallouss.

The Sbikha 2 industrial zone is 40 km from Enfidha International Airport in Sousse; it requires the expansion of National Road No. 2, which is currently in the stage of land dispossession.

It will have a link with passenger and freight rail line No. 11 between Sousse, El Kala, Sidi El Hani, Kairouan and Kasserine.

Investment opportunities in the region are currently great, Hallouss mentioned, adding that many foreign investors have stated their desire to set up businesses in Kairouan. He cited an investor from Canada specialised in the manufacture of car components and another from Germany in the automotive cable industry.

The current global situation could be appropriate, and Tunisia has become "a preferred investment destination, gaining positions over Vietnam and Taiwan."

The Sbikha 1 industrial zone in Kairouan, which covers 50 hectares, plays host to 11 industrial facilities, including two from Italy and Switzerland. They are active in the shoe industry, solar energy, medicines, and plant distillation which have high added-value.

"Despite the great potential, there are indeed certain problems that bother the industrialists currently located in Sbikha," as Hallouss pointed to the absence of a sewage treatment plant, frequent thefts, and the destruction of 400,000 dinar-worth of green spaces by livestock.

Industrialists also fear the delay in completing a high-voltage station in the Sbikha 2 area, and pinpoint defects observed in newly-constructed roads in the industrial zone.

When the stalled projects are completed, the Sbikha industrial zone will become «the best industrial zone in Tunisia, especially with a real estate reserve of more than 500 hectares, close to the port of Enfidha,» said Hallous. The construction of the industrial zone has made a 70% progress so far, according to Lazhar Hamdi, officer in charge of monitoring industrial zone projects in Kairouan.

The Industrial Real Estate Agency has pledged to connect it to drinking water networks, as well as electricity and natural gas networks.

The project, which cost 10 million dinars, is expected to be completed in March 2023, Hamdi added.