Rio de Janeiro – While some countries invest in alternative sources to supply their needs and replace oil, gas and coal, Tunisia is preparing to build an solar park geared exclusively toward exports. According to the Tunisian minister of Regional Development and Planning, Jamal Eddine Gharbi, currently attending the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil, the country generates some of the power it uses from renewable sources such as hydroelectric and biomass, but it wants to profit from sustainable development.
The project is still at an early stage. The construction of the solar park, in a 40,000-hectare plot in southern Tunisia, is expected to take three years to begin, and will be funded by a public-private partnership.
“Our medium- and long-term strategy is to develop alternative energy generation projects. Out of this new unit, which we will build in the south of the country, we’ll generate energy and export it to Europe via underwater cables in the Mediterranean Sea,” Gharbi told ANBA this Thursday (21st) in Rio de Janeiro.
The project, called TuNur, will generate 2,000 megawatts of energy and should enter Europe by way of Italy, from where it will be distributed to the continent. Gharbi said this is not the only Tunisian project that is based around sustainability.
“Right now we have 40 other solar power projects, and we are looking for the best areas in the country in which to build wind farms,” he said.
Cooperation
This Thursday, Gharbi also met with the Brazilian minister of Agriculture, Mendes Ribeiro, and the director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (Arab Brazilian Chamber, in the Portuguese acronym), a branch of the Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty), to discuss partnerships between the two countries. Tunisia wants to attract Brazilian investment.
“We can be a gateway to the entire African continent and Europe. We want Brazil as a partner to develop industries, agriculture and services. There are opportunities in organics production, the handling of new irrigated areas, and technical cooperation for farming,” he said.
According to Gharbi, the Brazil-Tunisia Bilateral Commission will meet in September to assess the best cooperation opportunities available at the moment.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
