The Director General of Housing at the Ministry of Equipment, Nejib Snoussi, affirmed that it has become necessary to evaluate the performance of public actors in the housing sector over recent decades in order to meet the needs of citizens and guarantee decent housing for all social categories.
“Despite all the institutional and legislative reforms aimed at supporting development and strengthening social cohesion while guaranteeing quality of life, the housing sector still faces several difficulties linked to the increase in demand for housing, the rising real estate prices and urban expansion,” he said in an interview with the Tap agency.
Snoussi also underlined that Tunisia has adopted since independence housing policies which have required revisions on several occasions, specifying that these policies have allowed the creation of several public establishments specialized in the housing and urban development sector. .
Public actors, according to the official, include the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia (SNIT), created in 1957 as the first public institution responsible for carrying out and financing housing projects intended for various social categories.
It also includes the Agence Foncière d’Habitation, created in 1973 to provide building land and regulate the real estate market, and the Société de Promotion des Logements Sociaux (SPROLS), founded in 1977 to carry out housing projects. with moderate rents intended for low-income social categories, as well as the Urban Rehabilitation and Renovation Agency (ARRU), created in 1981 to implement the policy of the State in the areas of rehabilitation and urban renewal.
On the other hand, Nejib Snoussi addressed the financing program for the construction of rainwater collection tanks in homes, emphasizing the importance of this program to support the State’s efforts in the conservation of water resources. water. To this end, the finance law for the year 2023 allocated credits worth 2 million dinars, from the National Housing Improvement Fund (FNAH), to finance the construction of reservoirs intended for store rainwater.
He noted that an agreement was signed to this effect between the Ministry of Equipment and Housing, the Ministry of Finance and the Housing Bank (BH Bank), which is responsible for managing this allocation, by granting interest-free loans to private owners, the amount of which does not exceed 20,000 dinars, to be repaid over a maximum period of 7 years.
In addition, within the framework of the finance law for 2025, an additional allocation of 2 million dinars has been planned to finance the construction of reservoirs under the same conditions as the initial allocation, with the aim of finalizing this project before the end of 2027.
Furthermore, as part of national efforts aimed at saving water, the official indicated that a component relating to the storage of rainwater and water saving has been integrated, through the construction of reservoirs for collection. rainwater, in all civil, tourist, recreational, industrial, logistics, service and commercial construction projects, as well as for equipment, multi-storey car parks and housing.
