Large Arch as a remaining of a Roman Aqueduct besides the road, south of Tunis, Tunisia. (Shutterstock.com/Uta Scholl)
Tunisia’s economic landscape reflects a dynamic yet uneven development pattern. Coastal cities like Tunis, Sfax, and Sousse serve as key economic hubs, supported by strategic investments, industrial zones, and developed infrastructure. Meanwhile, efforts continue to enhance economic opportunities across all regions, fostering inclusive and balanced growth nationwide.
Coastal regions enjoy relatively low poverty rates—Tunis at 3.5%, Ben Arous at 4.3%, and Ariana at 5.4%, when the national poverty rate is at 16.6% —and offer greater employment opportunities, access to markets, and public services. In stark contrast, the interior governorates, particularly in the northwest and center west, continue to face limited economic opportunities. Poverty rates in some regions, such as Kairouan (34.9%), Le Kef (34.2%), and Kasserine (32.8%), reflect ongoing challenges related to infrastructure development, investment, and economic integration1. Tunisia is working to strengthen regional connections and improve growth opportunities, with the aim of achieving more balanced development across the country, to which investments in road infrastructure would contribute.
While the country’s national road density averages 12 km per 100 km², the bulk of this network is concentrated in the coastal regions2. The country has more than 743 km of motorways3 and 3,938 km of national roads4. The primary coastal highway—running from Bizerte through Tunis, Sfax, and the Libyan border in the South—alone accounts for 80% of Tunisia’s highway network, enabling rapid movement of goods and people between its most developed cities. At the same time, the interior regions contend with underdeveloped roads, frequent congestion, and single-lane highways struggling to accommodate agricultural and raw material transport. Limited connectivity not only isolates businesses and rural communities but also restricts access to jobs, education, and essential services, reinforcing the cycle of regional economic disparities.
Against this backdrop, the Government of Tunisia launched the Road Transport Corridor Project (PMCTR) in 2015, with $230 million in World Bank financing, to improve connectivity between interior regions and coastal economic hubs. The project aimed to reduce travel time, enhance road safety, and improve accessibility to major economic centers, making lagging regions more attractive for private sector investment and enabling local businesses to access larger markets. The initiative upgraded 122 km of national highways, enhancing connections between Kairouan, Siliana, and coastal cities, along with 25 km of regional roads linking Zaghouan to Tunis, both opened in 2020. Additionally, a 55 km road in the south of the country between Tataouine and Medenine remains under construction.
Since its launch, the PMCTR project has transformed daily life for over 370,000 residents along the upgraded corridors, providing them with safer, faster, and more reliable roads. In a country marked by significant regional disparities, these improvements have been particularly critical for the interior regions, where poverty and unemployment remain high. The project also generated 1.2 million days of work for the local labor, injecting much-needed economic activity into communities along these routes.
A 3.5% increase in nighttime lights (NTL) activity in the areas close to the intervention roads following the completion of upgrades in December 2019 was revealed by night NTL analysis—a proxy for economic activity. While the National Roads showed limited effects, the Regional Road linking Zaghouan and Tunis saw a notable 7% increase in NTL activity, highlighting how strategic investments in certain corridors can catalyze local economic growth. Beyond immediate benefits, data-driven analysis offers deeper insights into the project’s economic impact.
Improved connectivity has also translated into real travel-time savings for Tunisia’s lagging regions. Kairouan, Siliana, Zaghouan, and Kasserine now reach economic hubs and ports faster, reducing transport costs for local businesses. Kairouan, for instance, saw a 14% decrease in travel time to the nearest port, while Siliana and Zaghouan improved access to industrial hubs by 14% and 16%, respectively. These time savings reflect the project’s role in breaking the isolation of inland regions, allowing farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses to integrate more effectively into national and international markets.
The Tunisia Economic Corridors Project (2024), a new $278 million World Bank-funded initiative, builds on the lessons from PMCTR, recognizing that better roads alone do not guarantee economic transformation. Although connectivity has improved, the monetized benefits of travel-time savings for Tunisia’s key exports—such as olive oil and dates—amounted to less than 1% of their total export value. This highlights the need for a more integrated approach, aligning infrastructure with supply chains, last-mile connectivity, and logistics improvements to maximize economic benefits. The new project specifically targets the Sfax–Sidi Bouzid–Kasserine corridor with a more strategic, targeted approach to regional connectivity and economic development.
Another key takeaway is that economic activity does not increase evenly across all road upgrades. The analysis showed that regional and last-mile roads had stronger economic impacts than larger trunk roads. The new project applies this lesson by prioritizing 117 km of rural feeder roads, ensuring better connections between farms, markets, and industries, particularly in underserved areas.
Simply building roads is not enough; economic growth depends on removing logistical bottlenecks and supporting local businesses. To address this, the project pairs road investments with SME (small and medium enterprises) support, improving access to finance through the CDC (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations) Impact Fund. This dual approach helps businesses expand and integrate into value chains, particularly in Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid, and Sfax.
Beyond infrastructure, the project placed a strong emphasis on inclusive growth, ensuring at least 30% of SMEs supported are women-led. Dedicated capacity-building efforts will strengthen entrepreneurship and resilience in the corridor. By prioritizing high-impact road links, integrating infrastructure with economic needs, and fostering inclusive development, the Tunisia Economic Corridors Project represents a shift toward smarter, more effective transport investments—a blueprint for reducing regional disparities and driving long-term growth.
Tunisia’s experience highlights a critical lesson: better roads alone do not automatically unlock economic growth. Connectivity improvements matter, but their impact depends on how well they integrate local economies into national and global markets. The most effective investments were not just in major highways but in regional and feeder roads, which directly connect businesses, farms, and industries to economic hubs. Transport projects should go beyond road construction—addressing logistical bottlenecks, improving access to finance, and aligning with sectoral priorities like agriculture and trade. With the right complementary measures in place, infrastructure investments have the potential to achieve even greater success.
Figure: Percentage of time savings to the nearest port or industrial hub due to the PMCTR project
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