Tunisia reveals three-year economic plan: main focus on private-sector

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Jan 22:16

The Tunisian government announced a 2023-2025 plan to develop the economy with a focus on the industrial sector.

Tunisian Economy Minister Samir Saied unveils a 2023-2025 development plan the government hopes will help secure a nearly $2-billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. By FETHI BELAID (AFP)

The Tunisian government proposed a development roadmap spanning on a period of three years and that mainly focuses on investments made by the private sector and aims for an economic growth of 2.1% in 2023 compared to 1.8% in 2022.

The concentration of the new plan would be on the industrial sector, including increasing the production of phosphate.

Tunisia has been as it struggling with an economic crisis causing a recurrent lack of basic necessities such as petrol and cooking oil.

The IMF demanded that the country carry out reforms, including the gradual lifting of subsidies on basic goods and restructuring of public companies.

The IMF later announced in October that it reached an agreement with Tunisia to support its economy with $1.9 billion, which has amounted to debts surpassing its GDP.

Tunisian Economy Minister Samir Saied said that the plan "puts forward a new model of development" to re-establish the country's economy and fight poverty, which currently impacts almost a fifth of Tunisia's 12 million population.

Saied also considered that the introduction is "realistic and prudent", emphasizing that the private sector must be the "engine of growth", stressing that the country must open up its business environment to attract more investments.

The unemployment rate is estimated to reach 1% by 2025, compared to 14% in 2022, the minister predicted.

He revealed plans to invest $12.3 billion in public investments within three years, over half of which through the state budget, while the remaining would be provided through state-owned companies.

Tunisian Minister of Industry Neila Gonji stated that the increased investments in the industrial sector would boost the growth of the sector from 15% today to 18% of GDP by 2025, with the country's exports increasing by over 30% reaching $18 billion a year.

According to the plan, the country also aims to boost phosphate production to 12 million tonnes in 2025 from 3.7 million tonnes in 2022.

Tunisia also plans to approve the construction of solar and wind energy plants on farmlands, in addition to allowing small creating small solar projects.

The government plan also includes improvements to the social security system, offering payouts to families taking care of non-relative elderlies, in addition to investing in education for individuals that dropped out of school.