TUNIS, (TAP)- The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Austrian oil and gas company OMV inked, Monday, a 230MTD loan agreement to develop the Nawara gas field, southern Tunisia.

  The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Forum "Invest in Tunisia, Start-up Democracy;" this is the second loan extended by the EIB to fund this project.
A first financing contract worth 150 million Euros was signed, last March, with the Tunisian Oil Activities Company (ETAP).

The project consists in building a 370km gas pipeline from Nawara to Gabès, a gas power plant in Nawara and a gas processing facility in Gabès. This new infrastructure will help further tap existing reserves and supply the local market with natural gas, while welcoming other initiatives in the exploitation of hydrocarbons.

"The signing of this agreement is a positive message for investment in Tunisia, in addition to being highly symbolic for the Euro-Mediterranean partnership," said EIB's Vice President Philippe de Fontaine Vive. © Tunis-Afrique Presse 2014