Writing in Réalités Magazine, Mohamed Salah Glaïed sums up the stakes: the Sidi Abdelhamid desalination plant in Sousse, finally up and running, is easing pressure on the region, but the energy transition remains, in his view, the real challenge, one that the 2027 Finance Act is just beginning to support with tax measures on electricity storage.
What difference does the Sidi Abdelhamid desalination plant make?
Desalination will ease the region’s strain, but the energy transition remains the major challenge.
Eight years passed between the announcement and the plant actually going live. The Sidi Abdelhamid seawater desalination plant in Sousse is finally operational, closing a project that sat in limbo for far too long.
For Mohamed Salah Glaïed, “Desalination will ease the region’s strain.” The plant promises to relieve pressure on water resources in Sousse and the surrounding area, long weakened by a project that kept stalling. A genuine relief, but the energy transition, he says, remains the major challenge.
Why does Mohamed Salah Glaïed still call it a “major challenge”?
Writing in Réalités Magazine, Mohamed Salah Glaïed sums up the situation bluntly: "Desalination will ease the region's strain, but the energy transition remains the major challenge." The line acknowledges the relief everyone was hoping for, without treating it as a sufficient answer.
By placing desalination and the energy transition on two separate planes, Glaïed is cautioning against mistaking immediate relief for the far bigger undertaking of transforming the energy system. The real challenge, in his view, lies there, beyond desalination alone.
What measures does the 2027 Finance Act include for the energy transition?
The draft Finance Act for 2027 includes new measures to support the energy and ecological transition. Several tax levers have been announced to encourage the development of electricity storage.
These measures include an exemption from customs duties and value-added tax (VAT) on batteries used for electricity storage. The bill also provides for reduced taxation, with a rate cut to 10%.
Between the Sidi Abdelhamid plant finally running and the measures announced in the 2027 draft Finance Act, the region is making headway on two fronts at once: water, partly relieved, and energy, which Mohamed Salah Glaïed reminds us remains the real undertaking. The tax incentives it provides for, exemption from customs duties and VAT on storage batteries, remain, for now, the concrete measure.
Also Worth Reading on La Sultane
After the World Cup: the FTF, a Mirror of Tunisia’s Crisis
Glam & Goodies Mini Market: the Pop-up Showcasing Hammamet’s Creators
Harry Styles Crosses the Berlin Marathon Finish Line in Under Three Hours
Chery Arrizo 8: the New Premium Saloon Causing a Stir in Tunisia
