Brussels, 26/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 18 August, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) launched the second phase of a technical assistance programme intended to identify and select innovative urban development projects.
Forming one of the pillars of the Euro-Mediterranean strategy for urban development, defined at a ministerial conference in November 2011, the Urban Projects Finance Initiative has identified 27 projects in nine countries on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean, requiring €5 billion in investment. The initiative is managed by the French Development Agency and the European Investment Bank (EIB) with the support of the European Commission (for up to €5 million) and the UfM.
Three of these projects have been labelled by the UfM: - the provision of infrastructure and basic services in Imbaba, one of the most populated urban areas in Egypt; - depolluting the coast to the north of Sfax, the second biggest city in Tunisia, as well as the rehabilitation of its beaches and the development of 420 hectares of land to extend the country's biggest industrial and commercial centre;- the commercial and industrial development of the Bouregreg Valley, near Rabat in Morocco, with a view to achieving social diversity, and the rehabilitation of Chellah necropolis.
The UfM secretariat is playing the role of facilitator in the exchange of information, the achievement of projects and the logistics involved in implementing them, said UfM Secretary General Fathallah Sijilmassi in a press release. (Mathieu Bion)