Under construction since June 2022, the sports complex is due to reopen in November 2024. However, the construction site is not progressing. On February 7, Sports Minister Kamel Deguiche indicated that Tunis was considering seeking Chinese assistance to complete the work.
On November 16, the Tunisian President, Kaïs Saïed, visiting the renovation site of the El-Menzah stadium, deplored the lack of investment and progress of the project, denouncing the pace of the work, the accumulated delays, as well as the insufficient quality of the materials used. A first burst of pressure. At the heart of Tunisia’s sporting history stand two major buildings: the Vélodrome stadium, built in 1927, and the El-Menzah Stadium.
The first, with an initial capacity of 5,000 seats, marked the country’s entry into the international sporting arena. Renamed the Victor-Perez stadium after the Second World War in honor of the Tunisian boxer Young Perez, the stadium then gave way to the El-Menzah stadium for the 1967 Mediterranean Games. The latter, the result of a collaboration Tunisian-Bulgarian, was designed as a modern sports complex also including a swimming pool and an Olympic gymnasium.
Since its inauguration, the El-Menzah stadium has become a symbol of Tunisian passion for sport , hosting countless milestone events and helping to forge the country’s sporting history. The El-Menzah stadium, alongside the sports dome and the swimming pool, forms the Olympic sports complex designed by the renowned architect Olivier-Clément Cacoub for the 1967 Mediterranean Games. The site has also seen concerts performed legendary, with artists of great renown, ranging from Oum Kalthoum to Michael Jackson, including Fairouz.
Over time, structural elements of the complex, including concrete blocks, showed signs of wear and cracking. Although this damage does not constitute an immediate danger according to specialists, it has led to a reduction in activity on the site. Furthermore, since the opening in 2001 of the Radès sports complex, which has a 60,000-seat stadium in the southern suburbs of Tunis, the El-Menzah stadium has taken a back seat, despite being used during the CAN 2004, won at home by the Eagles of Carthage .
Initiated on June 10, 2022, the renovation work on the El-Menzah stadium is scheduled to be completed in November 2024, with a total budget of 100 million dinars (nearly 30 million euros). The project includes the modernization of the stands, the reinforcement of the supporting structure, as well as the renovation of the locker rooms, the press box, the honorary stand, the scoreboard, and the lighting system. However, given the current state of play, it seems unlikely that the stadium will be ready to reopen for the scheduled date.
Remonstrances to Kamel Deguiche
Coming on-site to note the slowness of the project, Kaïs Saïed declared in November 2023 that the progress of the construction site, estimated at around 20%, was not normal. In front of the cameras, the President of the Republic addressed remonstrations to the Minister of Youth and Sports Kamel Deguiche, about the use of iron bars that do not comply with standards in construction work, potentially endangering the safety of citizens. The minister responded by affirming that no anomaly had been reported by the control office, despite multiple meetings held with his ministry and that of Equipment.
To defend himself, the president of the National Trade Union Chamber of Building and Public Works Contractors, Mahdi Fakhfakh, attributed the delay in the work to the lack of supervision by the Tunisian authorities. On February 12, 2024, Mahdi Fakhfakh highlighted the complexity of the renovation of the El-Menzah stadium and mentioned the existence of ego conflicts among the actors involved. “We encountered various obstacles and differences of opinion. There was no consensus between the parties involved. Four months ago we organized a meeting with the aim of reaching an agreement. It was possible to use Tunisian engineers. The contractor, for his part, kept his commitments,” he explained.
Kaïs Saïed also blamed the project manager for his failings, denouncing yet another conspiracy. The president highlighted a deliberate attempt to degrade certain assets belonging to the national community with the aim of selling them at prices below their value. According to him, the studies carried out took too long and there was no need to repeat them, given that they led to the same conclusions. He considered this a waste of public funds and an obstacle to the progress of the work.
In reaction, the former MP and Attayar leader, Zied Ghanney, criticized the President of the Republic’s use of conspiracy theories to explain the failures and shortcomings of the State. Stressing that Tunisia’s failures were visible in both large and small projects, illustrating his remarks by the delays in the renovation of the El-Menzah stadium, he affirmed that these problems reflected a major crisis of governance in Tunisia, for which he held the current government responsible.
A rapprochement with Beijing?
“The same idea repeats itself. I fail, so there are people targeting me. We are talking about a stadium built in 1976. I think that the lobbies no longer have anything to steal in Tunisia. What do lobbies gain by preventing people from going to El-Menzah stadium? We are in a country that is disintegrating, the Radès stadium looks like a museum. Is there a country without lobbies? Without people seeking to serve their own interests? », insisted Zied Ghanney, before observing that the current climate in Tunisia discouraged investors. He ruled that the failure to complete even the most basic projects, such as renovating a football stadium, highlighted a critical flaw in the functioning of the state.
More than expected on this issue, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Kamel Deguiche, – as part of the discussion in plenary session on the bill aimed at combating doping in sport – explained that the delays in The progress of certain sports infrastructure projects can be explained by several factors. He cited the increasing costs of raw materials, the financial problems faced by companies and the lack of specialized human resources within the regional directorates responsible for planning. The minister also announced that, following several interruptions that impacted the progress of the work, the renovation of the El-Menzah Olympic stadium could be entrusted to a Chinese company in order to speed up the process.
In reality, this rapprochement and the idea of this partnership are not really surprising, as the two countries have been increasing their efforts at seduction in recent months. Traditionally oriented towards Europe and the United States, Tunisia asserts itself as a promising partner for the Chinese “New Silk Roads” initiative, in which it chose to participate in 2018 . China has a particular interest in the port of Bizerte and is considering an ambitious deep-water port project at Enfidha, south of Tunis, although the Tunisian government has not yet made a decision on this.
At the same time, Chinese influence in Tunisia has been strengthened, notably with the inauguration of a Confucius Institute in Tunis in 2018. Even if trade and economic relations between Tunisia and China are less developed than those between China and other countries in the southern Mediterranean basin such as Algeria, Morocco or Egypt – where China has launched major investment projects – interest in a rapprochement between Tunisia and China is clearly expressed.
Kaïs Saïed congratulates Xi Jinping
On Wednesday January 10, 2024, the Presidency of the Republic published a press release to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Tunisia and the People’s Republic of China. To celebrate this event, Kaïs Saïed sent a message of congratulations to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. In his message, he expressed his pride in celebrating this significant anniversary and his satisfaction with the current state of Tunisian-Chinese cooperation. Four days later, on January 15, 2024, Kaïs Saïed welcomed Wang Yi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. During this meeting, he also highlighted the historical foundations of the friendship between Tunisia and China.
The Tunisian President underlined the exceptional quality of the ties of cooperation and partnership which unite Tunisia and China, expressing his satisfaction with the shared determination of the two countries to develop these relations “for the supreme good of their people”. He mentioned the various cooperation projects carried out in Tunisia thanks to Chinese support, notably the inauguration of the International Diplomatic Academy, thus underlining the tangible impact of this bilateral collaboration.
These diplomatic rapprochements, against a backdrop of declarations and receptions with great fanfare, have so far produced nothing really concrete. It remains to be seen whether China will agree to come to the rescue of a project which, obviously, is no longer moving forward.
