Tunisian privatization program on schedule

The Tunisian privatization program is expected for the next two years to speed up implementation, officials said. In 1996 officials announced that the government, in a plan to speed up its privatization program, had selected for sale 62 public firms with assets worth 1.4 billion dinars.

They said at the time that by mid-1997, about half of the total assets would be privatized. Officials at the Economic Development Ministry said the target number of firms was reached, and that expected revenues from three cement factories in the process being tendered this year will unable to reach and even go beyond the half of the total assets, Al Ahrar daily said today.

"As of mid-September, 30 privatization operations were underway, and the process (for the 62 firms) will be finished within two years," Monsef Ben Aballah, secretary of state to the ministry of economic development in charge of privatization told a business seminar this week.