TUNISIA - LOW COST SHELTER PROGRAM

investors against default on housing loans made to the Government of Tunisia (GOT). GOT will use these funds to increase the production and availability of low-income housing in urban areas. This project will be implemented by the GOT Societe Nationale Immobiliere Tunisienne (SNIT) and the Municipality of Tunis (MOT). Under this project, approximately 4,750 parcels (57 ha) of central Tunis slums, in an area known as Mellalassine, will be upgraded by MOT. Some 45,000 slum residents (whose median income is $111/month) will be given security of land tenure and will be provided with water and sewerage systems, public lighting, paved and graded streets and walkways, and storm drainage facilities. GOT will provide the community infrastructure of schools, health and recreational facilities, and markets. Residents relocated to make way for community facilities will be provided with serviced lots within the area and offered small ($2,000) construction or material loans. SNIT will construct 1,410 core housing units for 8,500 people. The GOT Caisse Nationale d"Epargne Logement (CNEL) will finance this construction on a total of 13 sites located in Tunis and the other urban centers of Gabes, Sfax, Sousse, Mahdia, and Monastir. All units will feature water and sanitary facilities, streets and walkways, storm drainage systems, and public lighting. This activity will introduce to GOT shelter programs the concept of the evolving dwelling unit, as residents will be able to add onto and improve their homes. These expandable units are targeted for households averaging $157 per month. SNIT will build and sell approximately 1,482 low-cost "C" units in Tunis, 1,183 in Ibn Khaldoun, and 299 in H"Rairia -- housing around 9,900 people. It is hoped that this activity will tie together the other two project activities, leading to an increased GOT commitment to low-cost housing. These units, targeted for buyers with an average monthly income of $136 (well below the median Tunis level), will have lower design standards and prices than all previous urban low-cost units.