MOFCOM provides a RMB 30 million interest-free loan for the Douiret Dam and Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam Construction Project

In 2006, the Chinese Government provided a RMB 30 million interest-free loan to the Government of Tunisia for the Douiret Dam and Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam Construction Project (see loan details at '我援突尼斯两座水坝项目施工合同签订'; see same provision year at 'TUNISIA-CHINA RELATIONS MODEST, BUT TRADE TIES GROWING'). China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was the specific Chinese Government institution responsible for providing the loan. The loan proceeds were drawn from one or more Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCAs) that the Chinese Government and the Government of Tunisia previously signed. However, it is not known which specific ETCA(s) were utilized (see '浅谈中国援建突尼斯两水坝项目质量管理').The project involved the construction of two mountainous dams — with total water storage capacity of 890,000 cubic meters — in the villages of Ksar Ouled Debbab (قصر أولاد دباب) and Douiret (دويرات) within the Tataouine Governorate (in the southern part of the country, close to the Sahara Desert). It also involved the construction of spillways and the water diversion pipelines (see '一、项目介绍' and '浅谈中国援建突尼斯两水坝项目质量管理'). The Douiret Dam was a homogeneous earth dam. Its crest had an elevation of 426 meters and a width of 5 meters, while the dam had a length of 578.79 meters. The maximum dam height was 12 meters (see '突尼斯杜雷土坝'). The Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam included a roller compacted concrete dam, a spillway, and vent pipe. The maximum height of the dam was 12 meters, and the dam crest was 5 meters wide (see '突尼斯达巴卜水坝'). The construction of dams were expected to nourish the underground water tables, protect the city of Tataouine and the surrounding area from floods, control runoff water, and develop vegetation and Tunisia's agriculture by reducing the effects of drought (see 'بعد نجاح تجربة السدود في ولاية تطاوين : هل من مشاريع أخرى في هذا المجال بعد الثورة ؟').Jiangxi Water and Hydropower Construction Group Co., Ltd. (Chinese company name: 江西省水利水电建设有限公司) was the contractor responsible for project implementation (see '我援突尼斯两座水坝项目施工合同签订'). Tunisia's Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources supervised the project implementation (see 'بعد نجاح تجربة السدود في ولاية تطاوين : هل من مشاريع أخرى في هذا المجال بعد الثورة ؟').The project was planned to begin in the first half of 2007 (see '我援突尼斯两座水坝项目施工合同签订'). The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 20, 2008. The construction period was two years and the project was expected to be completed in April 2010 (see '我国援突尼斯两座水坝项目开工'). In December 2009, MOFCOM conducted a final project inspection on the nearly-complete Douiret Dam and still-under-construction Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam (see '我司承建的中国援突尼斯杜雷水坝工程顺利通过竣工预验收'). This project was ultimately completed, but its precise completion date is unknown (see proof of completion at '60th Anniversary Project Exhibition').

Additional details

This project is also known as the Two Mountain Dams Project, the Dabbab Dam and Douiret Dam Construction Project, and the Kessar Dabbab Dam and Douiret Dam Construction Project. The Chinese project title is 塔维省克萨尔?达巴卜和杜雷两座山区水坝项目 or 这两座山区水坝项目. The Chinese name of Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam is 突尼斯达巴卜水坝蓄水. The Chinese name of Douiret Dam is 突尼斯杜雷土坝. The French project title is Deux barrages collinaires pour protéger la ville de Tataouine. The loan that supported this project is not included in the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI published in July 2020. Since loan terms for the interest-free loan are unavailable, AidData has set maturity period to 20 years by default and grace period to 10 years by default per China's Foreign Assistance White Paper (http://www.cidca.gov.cn/2018-08/06/c_129925064_3.htm) which states that the maturity period of interest-free loans is 20 years, with a drawdown period of 5 years, grace period of 5 years, and repayment over 10 years. AidData treats the drawdown period as providing 5 years of additional grace.

Number of official sources

8

Number of unofficial sources

12