Transport in Tunisia

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Tunisia has a number of international airports to service its sizable tourist trade. Tunis is the centre of the transport system as the largest city having the largest port and a light transit system.

1 Railways
2 Highways
3 Pipelines
4 Ports and harbors
5 Aviation
6 See also
7 References

[edit] Railways

Tunisia inherited much of its rail transport system from the French and the Tunisian Government has developed infrastructure further. A modernisation program is currently underway. It has a total of 2,152 km consisting of 468 km of standard gauge rail ways and 1,674 kilometres of narrow gauge. Tunis has a light rail system. In the south of Tunisia, there is a narrow gauge railway called the Sfax-Garsa Railway which delivers phosphates and iron ore to the harbour at Sfax. Tunisia had rail links with the neighbouring countries of Algeria and Morocco until the '90s. [1] The railways are operated by SNFCT, the Tunisian national railway. [2]

[edit] Highways

As of 2004, there were 18,997 km of highway including 12,310 of paved road and 6,387 of unpaved road. Tunisia is linked by road to North African nations including Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Egypt. The major cities are all linked by road through the interior. In 2002, Tunisia borrowed €300 million from the European Investment Bank in 2002 to be used to improve roads in the country including €120 million towards building a motorway between Tunis and Sfaz. (MEED Middle East Economic Digest, Oct 11, 2002 v46 i41 p19(1))

[edit] Pipelines

Tunisia has an extensive pipeline network including 3,059 km of gas pipelines, 1,203 kilometres of oil pipeline and 345 km of refined products. Petrochemicals are Tunisia's third most important export despite the small size of its oil and gas fields as compared to Libya and Algeria. It also gets a royalty rate of 5 per cent on the Algerian gas that runs through Tunis to Sicily through the Trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline. (IPR Strategic Business Information Database, Dec 18, 2003) Libya's National Oil Corporation formed a joint venture with Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz to construct a national gas pipeline between the two countries. (Petroleum Economist, Dec 2003 v70 i12 p43(1))

[edit] Ports and harbors

Tunis is the most significant port in Tunisia with other significant ports on the Mediterranean Sea including Bizerte, Gabès, La Goulette, Sfax, Sousse and Zarzis. Tunisia's merchant marine consisted of 14 ships as at 2002.

[edit] Aviation

As of 2002, Tunisia had 30 airports including several international airports. The most important one is the Tunis-Carthage International Airport but other significant airports serve Sfax, Houmt Souk, Monastir, Tozeur and Tabarka. Tunisair is the national airline.