MOFCOM provides a RMB 25 million grant for the El Menzah VI Sport and Cultural Center Rehabilitation Project

On March 31, 2008, the Chinese Government the Government of Tunisia signed an exchange of letters, commissioning a feasibility study by Chinese experts for the El Menzah VI Sport and Cultural Center Rehabilitation Project. President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ratified this exchange of letters via Decree n° 2008-2971 on September 8, 2008. The project design contract was signed on April 17, 2009. Then, on November 9 and 12, 2009, the two governments signed an exchange of letters regarding the implementation of the El Menzah VI Sport and Cultural Center Rehabilitation Project. This exchange of letters was approved on April 20, 2010 via Law n ° 2010-19 by the Tunisian Government, and then President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ratified this exchange of letters via Decree n° 2010-1453 on June 14, 2010. Then, on December 13, 2013 and December 16, 2013, the two governments signed another exchange of letters for the provision of a Chinese Government grant for a study on the project. This exchange of letters was was ratified by the Tunisian Government via Decree n° 2014-2262 on June 24, 2014; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia was responsible for executing the agreement. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was the source of funding. It committed RMB 25 million of grant funding in total to support the implementation of this project. The purpose of the project was to renovate and upgrade a sports and cultural center in the city of Ariana that was constructed during the late 1980s and completed in 1990 with financing from a Chinese Government loan. The center included a 500-seat multifunctional theater, an indoor swimming pool, multiple classrooms, and outdoor sports fields. The center falls under the supervision of the Ministry of Youth Sports of Tunisia. All of these facilities were renovated under the project. The center was over 5231 square meters. All of these facilities were renovated under the project. China Dalian International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Co., Ltd. (中国大连国际经济技术合作集团有限公司) was the contractor responsible for implementation. Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd. (BIAD) and Shenyang Engineering & Supervision Consulting Co., Ltd. served in a consortium for the project's management. BIAD also worked as the project's survey and design unit. The project implementation agreement was signed on April 28, 2016. Project implementation began in October 2016. It was scheduled for completion in October 2017. It went into review and inspection on September 17, 2017. The formal project handover ceremony was held on November 17, 2017.

Additional details

This project is also known as the El Menzah VI Sport and Cultural Center Renovation Project or the El Menzah VI Sport and Cultural Center Upgrade Project. The French project title is Projet d’entretien du centre culturel et sportif des jeunes d’El Menzah 6 or la rénovation de la maison des jeunes d’El Menzah 6 or Projet de rénovation du Centre culturel et sportif des Jeunes d'El Menzah VI. The Arabic project title is Ariana or المركز الثقافي الرياضي. The Chinese project is 芒扎青体中心升级改造项目 or 援突尼斯青年文化体育中心升级改造项目. Decree n° 2014-2262 refers to ‘grant of a loan intended to finance the studies about the project of rehabilitation the cultural and sportive center of El Menzah VI.’ However, most other sources refer to this project as being financed with a grant. This issue merits further investigation.

Number of official sources

22

Number of total sources

29