Tunisian national sanitation authority ONAS has awarded an international consortium the contract for the wastewater treatment plant for the new industrial park in Monastir providing a hub for the country’s textile industry.

The new plant, initially sized at 6000 m³/day, is to be delivered over a 32-month period by the consortium led by GIS Aqua Austria GbmH, Veolia subsidiary OTV, and Tunisian company Bouzguenda Frères Bâtiments et Travaux Publics.

Mfcpole is a PPP initiative to create technoparks and poles, or hubs, to promote competitiveness, especially in the textile and clothing sector.

Activities include development of the Neotex Monastir Technopark, which fits with the framework of a national strategy for the development of technology clusters in strategic sectors. The Neotex Monastir Technopark aims to concentrate research, industry and training activities in the area of clothing an textiles.

The wastewater treatment plant supports the industrial development in Monastir. ‘This plant will optimise operating costs, thereby improving the competitiveness of the companies through rational wastewater management,’ commented Ms Neila Nouira Gongi, President of the Monastir El Fejja Competitiveness Cluster, in a statement released by Veolia.

‘Our aim is to improve the quality of the treated wastewater to allow its use in other fields of activity,’ commented Mr Habib Omrane, CEO of ONAS, in the statement.