MOFCOM provides an RMB 30 million interest-free loan for the Douiret Dam and Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam Construction Project

MOFCOM provides an RMB 30 million interest-free loan for the Douiret Dam and Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam Construction Project In 2006, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issued a RMB 30 million interest-free loan to the Government of Tunisia for the Douiret Dam and Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam Construction Project.

The loan proceeds were drawn from one or more Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCAs) that the Chinese Government and the Government of Tunisia previously signed. However, it is not known which specific ETCA(s) were utilized.

The project involved the construction of two mountainous dams — with total water storage capacity of 890,000 cubic meters — in the villages of Ksar Ouled Debbab (قصر أولاد دباب) and Douiret (دويرات) within the Tataouine Governorate (in the southern part of the country, close to the Sahara Desert).

It also involved the construction of spillways and the water diversion pipelines. The Douiret Dam was a homogeneous earth dam. Its crest had an elevation of 426 meters and a width of 5 meters, while the dam had a length of 578.79 meters. The maximum dam height was 12 meters. The Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam included a roller compacted concrete dam, a spillway, and vent pipe.

The maximum height of the dam was 12 meters, and the dam crest was 5 meters wide.

The construction of dams were expected to nourish the underground water tables, protect the city of Tataouine and the surrounding area from floods, control runoff water, and develop vegetation and Tunisia's agriculture by reducing the effects of drought.

Jiangxi Water and Hydropower Construction Group Co., Ltd. (Chinese company name: 江西省水利水电建设有限公司) was the contractor responsible for project implementation. Tunisia's Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources supervised the project implementation. The project was originally expected to begin implementation during the first half of 2007.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 20, 2008. The construction period was two years and the project was expected to be completed in April 2010.

In December 2009, MOFCOM conducted a final project inspection on the nearly-complete Douiret Dam and still-under-construction Ksar Ouled Debbab Dam. The project was ultimately completed; however, its exact date of completion is unknown.