Towards devising logistics development strategy in Tunisia

 The government seeks to devise a logistics development strategy aimed at constructing five logistics zones with a total area of ​​580 ha under public-private partnership, Transport Minister Anis Ghedira said Thursday.

The logistics sector is a major factor in economic competitiveness. Indeed, the cost of logistics does not exceed 10% of the GDP for developed countries against a rate of 15% for developing countries.

This rate is about 20% in Tunisia, the minister stressed during a workshop organised at the Exports Promotion Centre (CEPEX) in Tunis, on the "Logismed Soft Project."

The objectives of the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation project Logismed Soft are based on two main axes: the creation of a Regional Logistics Cluster and the adaptation of the national training and skills development system in the field of logistics.

It is in perfect harmony with national plans and objectives for the development of the national training system, in order to meet the market requirements and international standards, added the Minister.

The Tunisian strategy in this area revolves around adapting the infrastructure to the needs of transport and logistics, upgrading logistics and skills development, so that Tunisia can become a Mediterranean logistics pole.

As part of the implementation of this strategy, the government included several reforms at the level of the 2016/2020 plan, as the preparation of a regulatory framework to organise and develop the logistics and creation of logistics areas.

The development of human resources and the improvement of skills is a major asset for the development of logistics and improvement of the sector's performance, notably through the control of delays and the improvement of services, he pointed out.

The five-year plan in the field of logistics seeks to create 30 thousand jobs, reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020, improve the share of logistics in GDP by 4, 5% in 2010 to 5.5% in 2020, in addition to an investment worth about 1.700 million dinars for the development of 580 ha of logistics zones with the private sector participation, estimated at 60%, Wissem Gaida Mahjoub, Director-General of Logistics and Multimodal Transport at the Transport Ministry highlighted.

He added that Tunisia has experienced a deterioration in its logistics performance in recent years, moving from the 60th position in 2007 to the 110th position in 2014, according to the World Bank's logistics performance indicator. This deterioration in performance and logistical capacity is due to a number of factors, mainly the delay in establishing an adequate logistical infrastructure, the regulatory framework not yet finalised, the inefficient and inadequate port system, Know-how and skills, weak co-ordination among stakeholders, lack of policy harmonisation and multiple initiatives.

This workshop represents an important step in the implementation of the Logismed Soft project, which will help move towards the achievement of the national logistics strategy, through the development of a participatory action plan for skills development.

The Logismed Soft project, funded by the European Investment Bank, is part of creating and supporting logistical platforms and contributing to the deployment of a logistics strategy in Tunisia.

An action plan for 2017 will be developed following this workshop for the implementation of the project components involving the training of 20 trainers from universities, specialised training centres and institutes and administration, the training of 60 technicians and agents from the logistics services enterprises, in addition to the establishment of a certification and empowerment referential of some training establishments

source: TAP