Cablegate: Tunisia to Unveil Enfidha Ben Ali Airport

VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTU #0890/01 3371551
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031551Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY TUNIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7049
INFO RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT 1967
RHMCSUU/FAA NATIONAL HQ WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC

UNCLAS TUNIS 000890

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EEB/TRA, EEB/EPPD, AND NEA/MAG
STATE PASS USTR (BURKHEAD)
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/ONE (MASON)
CASABLANCA FOR FCS (KITSON)
LONDON AND PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER
FRANKFURT FOR FAA ATTACHE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR ECON EINV ETRD TS
SUBJECT: TUNISIA TO UNVEIL ENFIDHA BEN ALI AIRPORT

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Summary
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1. (SBU) On December 4, Enfidha Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali
Airport is set to receive its inaugural flight. Constructed
in only 24 months, the airport is located 100 kms south of
Tunis and is significantly larger than Tunis-Carthage
International Airport. The first of four terminals has a
capacity of seven million passengers. The entire project, to
be completed in phases by 2036, is set to accommodate 25
million passengers per year and will be the largest airport
in North Africa. Enfidha Ben Ali Airport was built by the
Turkish company TAV and partially financed by the African
Development Bank. TAV will operate it on a 40-year
concession. Valued at 550 million euros, this is the largest
single foreign investment in Tunisia. Designed mostly for
charter flights bringing European tourists to package resorts
in the area, the airport will absorb traffic phased out from
nearby Monastir airport and will eventually open to regularly
scheduled commercial flights. The question remains, however,
whether there will be sufficient demand to meet an airport of
such a scale. End summary.

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An International Airport in 24 Months
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2. (SBU) The inaugural flight of Tunisia's Enfidha Zine
El-Abidine Ben Ali Airport is set to arrive from Europe on
December 4. The airport, whose construction took only 24
months, is situated 100 kms south of Tunis and 40 kms in
either direction from the tourist cities of Hammamet and
Sousse. It is next to the main highway, a north-south
railroad, and near the site of a deepwater port set to begin
construction in 2013 (the tender has not yet been issued).
Econoff visited the Enfidha airport as part of a delegation
from a conference organized by the African Development Bank.

3. (SBU) The new airport boasts 62 check-in counters, 18
passenger boarding bridges, eight baggage claim carousels, a
presidential wing, and a two-mile runway capable of
accommodating the Airbus 380. With a capacity of seven
million passengers annually, Enfidha Ben Ali is far larger
than the Tunis-Carthage International Airport, which has a
five million passenger capacity. The airport has underground
fuel tanks and draws energy from a co-generation plant on
premises. It was built in record time thanks to twenty-four
hour shifts and over 50 different contractors from France,
Finland, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Egypt. Only one of four
terminals is built -- the other three will be built in stages
with completion of the entire project (including an
additional runway) slated for 2036. The control tower, which
is nearly 300 feet high, will service all four terminals and
is currently operating the nearby airport of Monastir
remotely. When finished, Enfidha Ben Ali Airport will be the
largest airport in the Maghreb.

4. (SBU) The Turkish company TAV developed the project with a
40-year build-operate-transport concession, with most
revenues returning to TAV but some to the GOT. According to
airport officials, the Tunisian government only provided
road, electricity, sewage and telecom infrastructure and no
actual funds for the project. When announced in 2007, the
price tag was set at 400 million euros, but the final cost
ended up being 550 million euros, making it the largest
single foreign investment in Tunisia. The African
Development Bank financed 70 million euros of the project.
Even so, TAV Tunisie, TAV's local subsidiary, was forced to
sell shares in early 2009 to come up with additional capital
in the face of the global credit crunch.

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Will there be enough passenger traffic?
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5. (SBU) The current capacity of the terminal is seven
million passengers -- enough, according to airport officials,
to capture the current 4.5 million charter flight passengers
that are flying into Monastir airport (40 minute drive south
of Enfidha). Monastir airport reached capacity in 2005 and
has been saturated since. According to officials, flights
will be diverted from Monastir to Enfidha as soon as it is
fully operational. When the four terminals are built, the
airport will have a capacity of over 25 million passengers
annually and will be poised to serve as a regional air hub.
TAV officials said 15 percent of traffic will be commercial,
starting with Turkish Air and Egypt Air flights. Diet
Enfidha, an Italian company that owns land for industrial
parks near the airport, has plans for a hotel/tourism complex
based on expected demand. However, due to the distance
between the capital and Enfidha, it is unlikely the airport
will replace Tunis-Carthage International Airport in the near
or mid-term.

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Comment
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6. (SBU) The Enfidha Ben Ali Airport's installations and
short construction time are impressive and speak to the
government's full support of the initiative. Since its
inception, this has been a presidential priority; the
President was present at its inception and warmly welcomed a
foreign investment of such magnitude. It is not clear,
however, whether a major ceremony will be held for the first
charter flight. The big question remains whether the
ambitious plans of 25 million passengers a year will bear
fruit, as charter flights alone are unlikely to rise so
precipitously even if the tourism industry expands. Its
distance from the capital and other major economic centers
could mean Enfidha's modern transit lounges remain largely
empty.
DESJARDINS

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