Meeting Between CONECT and Tunisian Customs to Address Logistics Issues
Malek Aloui, spokesperson for the professional association of transport and logistics at CONECT, announced on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, that a meeting had taken place with the Tunisian customs authorities. The discussion focused on various pending issues, ways to resolve them, and the revision of certain points.
A communication was also established with the Tunisian Stevedoring and Handling Company, which presented the problems it encounters and an overview of its activities and investment program.
During his intervention on the "Ecomag" show, Aloui praised the reactivity of the various officials and their collaborative approach. This collaboration made it possible to clarify the situation regarding port management, the difficulties encountered, and potential solutions.
According to him, one of the major problems is the congestion of the Radès port, which currently houses 11,000 containers, while its maximum capacity is only 12,000. This situation is the main cause of the length of delivery and unloading times for goods.
He emphasized the need to resolve this issue, highlighting that the dwell time of containers in the port is 21 days, while international standards do not exceed one week. In 2008, the dwell time was 11 days, and efforts were underway to reduce it to just 8 days.
Mr. El-Aloui stressed that the cost of waiting is high, with late payment penalties payable in foreign currencies after 12 days. Each day of waiting costs the company between 40 and 50 dinars per container and can reach 100 to 150 dinars.
He then presented the measures that have been requested to reduce this waiting period to 5 days, or even one week.
It is worth noting that the World Bank indicated that Tunisia could gain between 4 and 5% of its GDP over a period of 3 to 4 years if it manages to improve the connectivity of its ports and reduce import and dwell times for goods. This finding was made in its economic update publication for Tunisia in May, titled "Better Connectivity for Growth".
The World Bank estimates that Tunisian ports are "relatively well-equipped for rolling, but not for container handling. They are also small and shallow compared to other Mediterranean ports, which is suitable for road traffic but affects connectivity, stacking, and operational efficiency of containers".
