Tunis

The Société de Promotion du Lac de Tunis (SPLT) is a public limited company under Tunisian law created in October 1983 on the basis of an agreement between the Tunisian State and the Saudi investor group Dallah El Baraka. The SPLT is in charge of the project management relating to the development and rehabilitation of the water body of the Berges du Lac and in particular its northern part, “Lake 1”.

The Banks of the Lake are a district of the city of Tunis constituting an urban extension, and are considered as the cradle of the metropolization and globalization of the Tunisian economy.

Examples of development projects carried out

El Khalij subdivision: the northern banks are home to the El Khalij subdivision, which is part of the municipal perimeter of Tunis. 88% of this allotment is urbanized, covering an area of 150 hectares between the lake and the Tunisian road linking the capital of Tunis to La Marsa. Employment in 2014 is estimated at 10,000, the projected population is estimated at 15,300 and the number of dwellings at 3,400.

Les Jardins du Lac subdivision : 84% of this allotment is urbanized and covers an area of 106 hectares. The number of jobs in 2014 is estimated at 8,300 and includes tertiary activities, the projected population is estimated at 8,500 and the number of housing units at 1,900.

The non-polluting activity zone: the non-polluting activity zone is 47% urbanized and covers an area of 44 hectares and the number of jobs in 2014 is estimated at 9,000.

Key figures

9 million m² of floors for housing (33,500 housing units).
9 million m² of floors for offices, business and service areas and public and sports facilities.

For a total of 1300 ha.

Thus, the part reserved for housing represents, taking into account the related collective equipment, 50% of the projected H.O. surface area. The expected population is about 275,000 people, including 135,000 residents and 140,000 non-residents (jobs). The land allocated to natural areas, outside private gardens, will represent nearly 30% of the total surface area, thus achieving a ratio of around 20 m² of green space per inhabitant.

The rehabilitation of the northern lake of Tunis had become essential because the lake has long been used as a receptacle for waste water and rainwater from the northern districts of the city. The lake’s remediation and restoration work has made it possible to balance the ecosystem. They were made possible thanks to the efforts made by the State to restructure the sanitation network of the city of Tunis and to ensure the interception of polluted water discharges through the ONAS canal. A general development plan has been drawn up for the entire territory of the Lake, providing all the equipment and infrastructure necessary for the future city’s operating autonomy.

The first phase of the project was carried out between 1985 and 1988. It focused on carrying out the work of cleaning up the Lake and regulating the layout of its banks. This work, which stopped the discharge of wastewater into the Lake, provided a certain balance to the ecosystem and, consequently, the possibility of reconciling the northern part of the water body with the surrounding urban fabric. Thus, the urbanization of the new banks is integrated into the urban dynamics of Greater Tunis.

The first phases of the development have been successfully completed and are contributing to a new urban and economic offer. Thanks to this ambitious development operation, Greater Tunis is entering the concert of internationalized metropolises, while controlling the public cost of development.

The general program has been revised twice in order to bring it into line with the new urbanization choices of the new lake city. The first revision of the programme was drawn up in 1998 in the context of the new guidelines set for the North-East zone (an area covering 839 ha) and the second was launched at the end of 2006. The new strategic ambition of the State in terms of integrating Greater Tunis into its national and international environment aims, by the second decade of the 21st century, in the coherence of planning procedures, technical rigour and respect for environmental standards, to renew the capital’s urban image.

Recent news and events

In 2018, a project to build a metro line linking Tunis Maritime Station “TGM” to Lake 2 over a distance of about 7 km was discussed between the Ministry of Transport and the General Directorate of the Société de Promotion du Lac de Tunis.

Also in the same year, the SPLT proposed to the Caisse des Dépôts et des Consignations (CDC), as part of a PPP, a project to create a district dedicated to several ministerial departments.