The partnership agreement between the Tunisian and French governments was signed on 17 August 2022. According to the agreement, the Center for studies and expertise on risks, the environment, mobility and planning (CEREMA) will implement a new programme in Tunisia. The initiative concerns the recovery of construction and public works waste and demolition waste for road construction.
According to The Tunisian Ministry of Equipment and Housing, which has entrusted the project to CEREMA, at least 800 000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste have been accumulated since 2000, 70% of which is located in the large coastal cities of the governorates of Tunis, Sousse and Sfax.
The recycled waste will be used to build the national road n°3 in the governorate of Bin Arous (over 1 km). The Tunisian authorities justify this choice by the presence of two lanes, the absence of maintenance projects, the proximity of the road to natural material production sites, and the availability of construction and demolition waste.
The programme is part of the RE-MED “Application of innovation for the development of the circular economy for sustainable construction in the Mediterranean” launched on 25 August 2021. The project initiated by Tunisia, France, Italy and Lebanon aims to improve the management of the construction industry. The European Union (EU) will provide 90% of the €3.1 million needed to implement RE-MED. This will be in the framework of a European cross-border cooperation programme with Mediterranean countries.
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According to the agreement signed on 17 August 2022, CEREMA will also build fracturing and migration stations “to redesign the demolition and construction waste that will be used in the model experiment, which will allow the construction of a section of National Road No. 3 with dispersed materials; as well as a second section of the same length (1 km) using natural materials,” says the Tunisian Ministry of Equipment and Housing.
Inès Magoum