A large public-private partnership aims to transform a marginalized area into a strategic tourist and economic hub by 2027.
Long considered a neglected and polluted site, Sebkha Ben Ghayadha is set to change its face. This natural area in southern Mahdia will soon become a sustainable, integrated tourist city, as part of an ambitious national development project led by the Tunisian government.
According to Hela Dessim Rahmouni, CEO of the Sebkha Ben Ghayadha Study and Development Company (under the Ministry of Equipment), this project is among the initiatives with high employment potential and significant added value for the national economy. “We want to transform a marginalized space into a model smart city, environmentally respectful and opportunity-creating,” she told TAP.
A long-term project with a strong sustainability dimension
The project will cover 142 hectares along Mahdia’s southern coast, creating tourism, commercial, and service hubs, along with a smart city meeting international standards. Currently, 99.5% of the land belongs to the state, following rehabilitation operations that have restored the lagoon, previously marshy and malodorous.
Ms. Rahmouni noted that the developments have already improved the living conditions of residents in surrounding neighborhoods. Ecologically stabilized, the sebkha has become a strategic land reserve for future coastal development.
Aligned with the national policy for coastal redevelopment and tourism diversification, the Sebkha Ben Ghayadha project aims to boost the regional economy year-round, especially during off-peak seasons.
Preliminary works, initiated in the early 2000s, were carried out in several phases:
- 2007–2011: land rehabilitation and creation of the water basin;
- 2016–2018: opening of the water basin to the sea;
- 2020: protection of the northern canal waters.
A 2021 ideas competition defined the project’s future orientations, emphasizing sustainable development and environmental monitoring of the sebkha, carried out between 2022 and 2025.
The state relies on a structured public-private partnership
In September 2025, the MAP/ARLYNK consortium, supported by PwC Tunisia, was selected by the Tunisian government to lead preparatory studies and structure a public-private partnership (PPP) to finance and implement the Sebkha Ben Ghayadha development project.
The consortium brings together recognized expertise in urban engineering, strategic and financial consulting, and complex project structuring, ensuring an integrated approach aligned with international PPP standards.
The 28-month contract includes market studies and investor identification, functional plan design, branding and territorial marketing strategy, as well as technical and legal support up to the signing of the final contract.
Within this framework, the General Public-Private Partnerships Authority (IGPPP) plays a central role.
By supporting the Sebkha Ben Ghayadha development in Mahdia, the Authority is moving from its traditional regulatory role to that of initiator and developer of strategic projects.
The IGPPP has now launched an international tender process to structure project commercialization and attract top-tier developers and investors, demonstrating the government’s intent to make this project a model of innovative and value-creating public-private partnership.
The MAP consortium will participate in this joint mission, which is expected to lead to the preselection of investors in 2027, the first step toward the project’s effective launch.
The total cost of works, studies, and land regularization operations stands at approximately 81.3 million Tunisian dinars by the end of 2025.
The ultimate goal is to make Sebkha Ben Ghayadha a model of ecological and urban transformation, combining economic development, sustainable tourism, and environmental preservation.
Source: La presse
