Early Warning System

Countries

Tunisia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Specific Location

Nabeul, Ben Arous, Zaghouan, and Sousse

Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Proposed

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Borrower

Government of Tunisia - Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 23.38 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 20
Converted using 2025-08-31 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 46.76 million

Bank Documents

PSD Translation (French)

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Oct 20, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Aug 31, 2025

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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of the provision of a sovereign guaranteed senior loan of up to EUR20 million to Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz ("STEG") to finance the construction of the Grombalia 2 - Kondar Grid Reinforcement Project. The Project includes mainly a 400 kV overhead transmission line (OHTL) of approximately 85 km, connecting substations Grombalia2 to Kondar and crossing four governorates (Nabeul, Ben Arous, Zaghouan, and Sousse) as well as other entry and exit overhead lines connecting Grombalia2 substation to the 225kV network.

As part of wider ELMED project the Project will enable the evacuation of green electricity produced in the southern part of the country, as well as to realize the export ambitions via the ELMED interconnection between Tunisia and Italy. The Project with the grid reinforcement of transmission infrastructure involved is therefore necessary to ensure effective integration of new renewable capacities and secure delivery to consumption centers and export corridors.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The project is Categorised A (ESP 2019). The construction of a greenfield high-voltage 400kV overhead power lines requires a full Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ("ESIA").

The project baseline passes through predominantly rural and agricultural areas in four governates. A right of way (RoW) of 50 m (25 m on each side) has been created to provide flexibility for modifications to the line during the construction phase. No protected natural areas are intersected, but bird migration corridors may overlap with the route and have been considered in the assessment. The route avoids communities and structures, crossing primarily government land used for agriculture and grazing. There are no archaeological sites on the route.

There are expected impacts to landscape, soil disturbance, air and noise pollution, and waste generation.

Impacts on birds are expected due to collision and electrocution risks, particularly near migratory corridors.

Social impacts are linked to occupational health and safety hazards and high expectation for employment, which may lead to increased community tensions.

No physical displacement is expected and routing as sought to avoid impact on any structures. Land acquisition will result in some economic impacts related to damage to crops, temporary restrictions to land, permanent loss of land where pylons are to be located and permanent restrictions on land use along a 10 m corridor that will limit tall trees and vegetation.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

A sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to EUR 20 million to STEG.

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

SOCIETE TUNISIENNE DE L'ELECTRICITE ET DU GAZ - STEG is Tunisia's 100% state-owned vertically integrated National Electricity and Gas Utility Company under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. It was founded in 1962 and is responsible for the generation, transmission, distribution, import and export of electricity and gas.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Societe Tunisienne de l'Electricite et du Gaz	Client	-

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Raoudha Dagdagui Haouala
raoudha.haouala@elmed-steg.com
+216 71 341 363
www.steg.com.tn
38 rue Kamel Ataturk 1080 Tunis Tunisia

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html