Tunisia Cabinet Reviews Water Sector Governance and Summer Supply Plan

Prime Minister Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri chaired a cabinet meeting on the water system at the Government Palace in Kasbah on Tuesday. She stated that governance and reform of the water sector are national priorities aligned with directives from the President of the Republic.

Zenzri said the measures aim to secure the constitutional right to drinking water, preserve resources for future generations, and support water, national, and food security. She noted ongoing work to update legislation on management, preservation, and protection of water resources.

They outlined an emergency program of 81 projects costing 58 million dinars to secure drinking water this summer. The program includes drilling 38 deep wells, maintaining 26 pumping stations, and reinforcing networks across all governorates. An additional 187 water systems serving 248,000 people are scheduled for completion at a cost of 147 million dinars.

The cabinet also reviewed a water strategy extending to 2050 that contains 43 programs and 1,200 measures with total investments of 74.515 billion dinars. Fifty-three percent of the funding targets non-conventional water resources and priority mobilization projects.

The plan sets a target to reduce energy costs in water production and distribution to no more than 17 percent by 2030, down from 27 percent in 2025. It includes a 225-megawatt solar power component and a digital platform for real-time hydrological data collection.

Work is underway on a second digital platform to manage permits for the public water domain and reduce unauthorized drilling. The meeting also discussed updating the bioclimatic zones map to refine agricultural planning and lower evaporation rates.