Subzero Blue

New Wind Farms To Be Built Throughout Tunisia

Some more good eco-friendly news from Tunisia…

Three wind farms with a total capacity of 120 megawatts of electricity will be built by 2009 in Bizerta, Jendouba and Beja.

Tunisia’s wind power energy strategy aims at increasing the total electricity production resulting from this non polluting form of energy to 175 MW by 2010, thus amounting to some 4,2% of the electricity production in the country.

[…]

… the Tunisian government has so far pledged some 18 million dollars of funds for setting up the project.

[Source: Tunisia Online News]

Tunisia already has one wind farm in Hawariya (Cap Bon), that was built 15 years ago, and began producing 8.7 megawatts (MW) of electricty. In 2003, the government further developed the site further; it is expected to produce 34 MW of electricity by next year.

I personally think it’s great the country is investing in these clean, natural sources of energy, both cutting costs and playing a role in protecting the environment.

Kyocera To Supply 500 Solar Systems To Households In Tunisia

Kyocera Corporation just announced that it will supply and install its solar power generating systems in Tunisia under a yen-loan project by the Japanese government through Itochu Corporation.

Starting in April 2008, Kyocera will successively install its solar power generating systems in 500 households in villages that do not currently have electricity in the three Tunisian governorates of Kef, Siliana and Beja. These systems will charge storage batteries using power generated during daylight hours and make the power available for residential lighting and other needs at night. Anticipated benefits include new freedom to engage in nighttime studies and side jobs, improved quality of life, and enhanced growth and development for the villages.

[Source: Digital Producer]

I think this is great news, such projects are always more than welcome. Definitely wish more projects like this would pop up around the globe, it’d be a great service to mankind, bringing clean effective solutions to problems in rural areas.

[Via: Groovy Green]

Italian Firm Plans $22 Billion Tunisia Resort

Italian property firm Ernesto Preatoni Group will invest 15 billion euros ($22 billion) in a luxury resort of hotels and holiday homes in northwest Tunisia, it was reported yesterday.

The project includes a high-class tourism complex, hotels, leisure centers and ports in the northwest of Tunisia; Work will start before the end of this year and will last 12 years.

So another outside investment in the tourism sector in Tunisia. Tourism obviously is one of Tunisia’s biggest sources of income, and so investments in this area are always very good news; but I really wish we start seeing big investments like this in other areas as well, mainly service-based and production-based businesses; Tunisia has a well-educated workforce in several industries and the government has put in place many incentives for outside investors that should make it a really great destination for such kinds of investments.
Plus, I think it’s very important for Tunisia to diversify the areas of investment and income for the country, as well as build up and modernize different sectors to absorb the newer generations of Tunisian graduates and job-seekers.

[Source: Reuters]

Bled El Ward, A New $10 Billion Emirati Project In Tunisia

Emirati Al Maabar International Investments Company recently announced its plans to build one of its biggest projects in the African Continent. This project is ‘Bled El Ward’ (City Of Roses) on the northern rives of the capital Tunis, in Ariana, on a total area of 5 Thousands Hectares, with a total cost that reaches $10 Billion.

The project will result in the construction of a modern city made up with many components such as the International Health city, water channels in addition to tourist resorts, residencies, sport facilities, Golf fields, and areas for shopping, entertainments and open space.

The project derives its name from the old name of the Tunisian city, Ariana, which is known for its beautiful roses and flowers and its soft breeze.

Its design gets its name from the old architecture history. It is based on the most modernized architecture styles. Furthermore, it gives priority to the environment and nature as whole, with its sea and forests sides. It also provides 50 Km of beaches through its water channels.

The realisation of ‘Bled El Ward’ project will be on many phases. The first is ‘Diar El Fel’ zone that covers 300 hectares, 190 Hectares will be devoted to building. The development period of this project will be 5 years.

Personally, I think it is great that more Emirati companies and businesses are investing in Tunisia, it’s great for the economy, for creating jobs, for modernizing our cities and above all it’s a great example of how we as Arabs can work and succeed together when we really want to.

[Sources: ArabianBusiness, Seoul Times, WebManagerCenter (FR)]

Tunisiana’s GPS Weenee Brings GPS To Tunisia

GPS Weenee Just a couple of days ago I was wondering when GPS would finally make it to Tunisia, and to my great surprise today, by accident, I came across a new website launched by Tunisia’s first private mobile operator Tunisiana publicizing a new product they’re launching called GPS Weenee. (Weenee in Arabic means: Where am I? or Where is it?)

The product should be currently available at Tunisiana’s service centers in the Grand Tunis area: Les Jardins du Lac, La Marsa (Zephyr), Ariana, Medina, Tunis-Carthage Airport.

The details of the service are as follows:

– Coverage: The Grand Tunis area and inter-urban Tunisia for the time being.
– Vocal and symbolic guidance
– 2D and 3D Maps
– Multilingual: Tunisian accent, Arabic, German, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
– Search for interest points in the proximity, sorted by distance
– Search for addresses in the Grand Tunis area
– Automatic route recalculation
– Optimised route calculation (time/distance)
– Possibility to save favorites and last addresses
– Alerts when speed limit is exceeded
– Positions for hotels, restaurants, fuel stations, …etc.

I’ve found no information about the price on the website, so I guess I’ll have to pass by one of the service centers to check that out. Hopefully them not putting the price doesn’t mean it’s really expensive.

I can’t understand why I had to find out about this by coincidence, where is the communication a product like this deserves? where are the ad campaigns? where are the billboards?

Personally, I find this very very interesting, a great move by Tunisiana, a product everyone needs and that simply sells itself, something I’ll totally go for if the price is right.

Update: The information I got about the price from a Tunisiana insider is a one-time 900 DT for the device. Very expensive and unpractical, I think.
A friend of mine rightfully joked after hearing the price: You could spend your whole life getting lost in Tunis and taking taxis to wherever you want to go and it still wouldn’t amount to 900 DT.

Redline’s RedMAX For WiMax Network Deployment In Tunisia

Canadian Redline Communications Group Inc., a leading provider of standards-based WiMAX and broadband wireless infrastructure products, announced that Divona Telecom, the one and only satellite and WiMAX telecom operator in Tunisia, has chosen Redline’s WiMAX Forum Certified RedMAX products for its five-city WiMAX network.

The US$1 million network buildout will take place in several phases over the next two years, and will connect five major cities in Tunisia, including Tunis, Nabeul, Souse, Monastir and Sfax.

Divona Telecom is serving corporate clients in Tunisia, with several hundred corporations on its WiMAX network and plans to double their subscriber base every quarter for the next four years.

Divona Telecom was created following the concession of a telecommunications license by the Tunisian government in 2003. It belongs to Planet Tunisie, the first ISP in Tunisia, and Monaco Telecom.

[Source: SYS-CON Media]
[Links: Divona Telecom, Redline]

Fly Chicken, The Closest Thing To KFC In Tunisia

People who know me personally or who have followed this blog for a while know that I love my good tasty fast food, and that I don’t miss a chance whenever I’m abroad to head to the nearest Burger King, McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut…etc.
I know a lot of it is unhealthy and that it’s fattening, etc etc etc, but I just love it, despite all the lectures I’ve gotten about it.

Unfortunately, here in Tunisia we don’t have any of my favorite fast food chains, so I can only enjoy their meals when I travel abroad.
Still, I do try my best to look for alternatives here in Tunisia.

And well I thought I’d share one of the places I found here, maybe it’ll ease some other person’s cravings as well.

The place I’m talking about is called “Fly Chicken”, it’s a little fast food place in the TunisCity-Geant food court, it’s the closest thing I’ve found in Tunisia to KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), with a close enough menu too, and best of all it’s really delicious; quite cheap too.

My favorite menu consists of three pieces of chicken, french fries, rice, salad and soda. By the end of the meal, I’m both full and totally satisfied.

It beats the chicken sold at Baguette & Baguette, as well as the expensive but less delicious Chickos.

There you go; maybe next time you’re in TunisCity and you feel like grabbing something to eat, you can try it out for yourself.
Oh and by the way, there’s nothing in it for me; This is a genuine recommendation.

Tunisia: One Of Top 53 Places To Go In 2008

The New York Times recently published a list of the 53 places to go in 2008, and Tunisia ranks 3rd in their list, directly after Laos and Lisbon.

Here’s what they have to say:

Tunisia is undergoing a Morocco-like luxury makeover. A new wave of stylish boutique hotels, often in historic town houses, has cropped up alongside this North African country’s white-sand beaches and age-old medinas, drawing increasing numbers of well-heeled travelers. The Villa Didon (www.villadidon.com) in Carthage, for one, has a restaurant originally run by Alain Ducasse. Indeed, TripAdvisor ranks Jerba, a resort island off Tunisia’s southern coast, as the No. 1 emerging spot in 2008.

Four other Arab countries were featured on the list: Libya, Egypt, Kuwait and Algeria.

It’s really cool to see that Tunisia is getting more interest and becoming a better known tourist destination outside of Europe as well, where most of our tourists usually come from.

Check out the full NY Times article here: The 53 Places to Go in 2008

Pizza Cono, Pizza In Cones

Pizza Cones I think if there’s any country in the world that could compete with Italy itself in the number of pizza places and pizza consumption, it’d definitely be Tunisia; There are at least two or three pizza places in every street or corner of every city.

So why am I writing about yet another one?
Well because this ones sell pizza that’s not quite like the pizza we’re used to finding everywhere.

Pizza Cono, like its name actually suggests, sells pizza in the form of cones. It is pizza dough shaped into the form of an ice cream cone, and filled with your favorite combination of cheese, sauce and toppings.

I was hesitant at first to go and check it out, I was expecting something that looked interesting but wasn’t so good to really eat. But one day recently, we found ourselves in the area, hungry and feeling like trying something different, so: why not.
It turned out pretty good in fact, quite practical when you need to grab something to eat on the go. I imagine a really good option for people working in the area.

I still prefer regular pizza; one of the joys of eating pizza to me, other than its delicious taste, is its form and the way I get to hold a good old slice of pizza in my hand and eat away at it.

Anyway, it was nice to try out, and if you’re in the area, check it out, if only for the sake of trying something new and different.

Oh and the whereabout of this place: It’s in the Les Berges du Lac area, behind the Mosque.

SBA Airlines, A New Tunisian Low Cost Airline Carrier

SBA Airlines is a new low cost carrier airline of Tunisia, based in Tunis. It will operates a hub and spoke network, linking several European and African international destinations.

SBA airlines plans to start scheduled operations by the end of 2007 to Lagos, Nice, Manchester, Warsaw, Bremen and Amsterdam from Tunis using A320s.
And when the new airport in Enfidha opens, it will eventually launch more destinations like New York, Montreal, Johannesburg, Bombay, Shanghai, St Petersburg, Nairobi, and Stockholm..

SBA Tunisia was created jointly by Tunisian Sami El Aouini, CEO, and Swedish Bejae Taylor, Chairman.
The airline company has already obtained an agreement for its creation and has formally applied for a “Principal Accord” with the Tunisian Office of Civil Aviation and Airports. The company is currently awaiting acquiescence from the governmental agency.

Personally, by default, I always encourage such new projects and businesses. I think it’s a great idea, something that’s missing from the Tunisian airline scene up to now. I wish them all the best of luck.

[Official Website: SBA Airlines]