A meeting was held on Tuesday at the headquarters of the GAFSA governorate to find solutions to the problem of gas emissions from the Tunisian chemical complex, MDHILA unit 1. Under the presidency of Governor Slim Frouja, the meeting brought together the regional services, the local council and several actors concerned.
The session resulted in the adoption of a series of measures, including an in -depth environmental diagnosis in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment and the National Waste Management Agency. A technical commission will also be activated to ensure the follow -up of the file and propose concrete solutions.
A rehabilitation project expected since 2019
On this occasion, the authorities announced the launch of the tender of the rehabilitation project of the sulfuric acid unit, initially planned in 2019 but delayed. This project, funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), represents an investment of 80 million dinars. It should reduce sulfur dioxide emissions to 2.6 kg per tonne of product sulfuric acid.
A first tranche of 20 million dinars has already enabled the acquisition of equipment, while the opening of offers is scheduled for November 2025.
Governor Slim Frouja also announced the allowance of 50 million dinars for additional projects intended to support rehabilitation and improve the environment in the MDHILA delegation.
Local pressure and health worries
The meeting comes after an urgent complaint sent Monday by the Mdhila local council to the presidency of the Republic and to the Ministries of Environment, Health and Energy. The Council denounced there the continuous deterioration of the environmental situation: toxic emissions, foul smells, chronic diseases, air, water and soil pollution, as well as social and economic repercussions.
On September 11, several inhabitants were hospitalized for suffocation cases due to a toxic gas leak from the MDHILA 1 production unit, recalling the urgency of corrective measures.
Remember that The Local Council of Mdhila (GAFSA) filed an urgent complaint on Monday to the Presidency of the Republic and several ministries In order to shed light on toxic emissions from the Tunisian chemical group, the inhabitants denounced a “continuous environmental disaster” which affects their health and destroyed their land for decades.
The local council claims to have passed “at a higher stage” by entering justice. Elected officials thus hope to determine legal responsibilities and force the application of environmental standards. They alert to an almost daily multiplication of cases of asphyxiation in the city, calling for immediate intervention to reduce toxic emissions.
Kaïs Saïed denounces “the assassination of the environment and health”
Yesterday, the President of the Republic, Kaïs Saïed, brought together Tuesday September 30 at the Carthage Palace three members of the government: Mustapha Ferjani (Health), Habib Abid (Environment) and Fatma Thabet (industry, energy and mines) to look at the large -scale environmental crisis in Gabès.
The Head of State described the establishment of the chemical complex in Gabès as a “real crime” which led to “the assassination of the environment and health”, stressing that the repetition of intoxications illustrates “serious maintenance shortcomings” and the absence of a sustainable protection strategy.
