Tunis: The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy is working with the Department of Transport to draw up an agreement to monitor commitments made in terms of the transport of phosphates and derivatives, said Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Fatma Thebet Chiboub. During a hearing held on Friday by the Finance and Budget Committee at the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP), Chiboubra pointed out that the sector's contribution to GDP had fallen from 3% before 2011 to 1% at present, and to exports from 10% and 12% before 2011 to 3% today. Rail transport is the nerve centre between mining and processing activities, she pointed out, considering that the development of the phosphate sector and the resumption of the production rate hinge on the development of rail transport. Rail transport fares have been doubled since 2016, in the form of a subsidy granted by the Gafsa Phosphates Company (CPG) to the rail transport system, in addition to the application of the agreement to raise fares by 20% by 2023, the minister said. The capacity of the rail transport sector had declined in recent years, reaching just 1.1 million tonnes in 2020, due to social movements in the mining basin towns, processing sites and on the railways, she specified. She added that despite the improvement in the social climate, the production rate had not exceeded 1.7 million tonnes in 2023. Work during this period will focus on reforming the rail transport system, in order to encourage the resumption of phosphates and derivatives activity and help companies in the sector recover their financial growth and their position on international markets, Chiboub underlined. She considered that the hydraulic phosphate transport project planned by the CPG will not hinder the investments planned by the Tunisian National Railways Company (SNCFT), but will further boost transport activity. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse