-A scientific study jointly published by Tunisian and Icelandic researchers, ranks Tunisia as the third country in the world in geothermal technology applied to agriculture, after the United States and Hungary. The technology which is mainly in use in the El Hamma region, in southern Tunisia, consists in using geothermal resources for heating greenhouses and irrigation in arid areas.
Thanks to its geothermal potential, El Hamma is attracting an increasing number of foreign investors lured by the outstanding quality and the scrumptious taste of the local tomato, known as ‘El Hamma tomato', which can fetch some 7 dinars (4 Euros) the kilogram on Europe 's grocery markets.
Along with the existing projects, further ones are afoot, to set up 140 hectares of greenhouses, which is very close to the 150 hectares objective, set by the regional development strategy to be achieved by 2016.
The values of these investments could easily amount to one million dinars and the number of jobs created as a result, should amount to 13 by hectare.
The governorate of Gabes, where the district of El Hamma is located, is currently home to 15 geothermal projects, including 3 realized by foreign investors.
The projects which are geared mainly to the production of melons and tomatoes, are economically attractive owing to the high export potential of the products. The ‘El Hamma tomato' is exported to Europe, the US and the Gulf countries.
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TUNISIA-GEOTHERMAL PROJECT : increasing number of foreign investors in El Hamma regio
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