Tunisian and Maltese investors

Tunisian and Maltese investors form a cross-border network of private and institutional capital that is increasingly active in Tunisia’s renewable energy and wider economic development. Since 2008, Tunisian investors and Maltese partners, including the Malta‑based Zammit Group, have backed large-scale solar initiatives with UK developer Nur Energie, most notably through TuNur Ltd, an independent renewable energy, transmission and green hydrogen developer operating from Tunisia at the intersection of European and African markets. This investor group is pursuing utility‑scale export projects while also engaging in smaller domestic solar and wind developments. The flagship TuNur project envisages a 2.25 GW concentrated solar power plant in the Sahara near Rjim Maatoug, combined with a 2 GW high‑voltage direct current submarine cable from Tunisia to Italy, designed to deliver around 9–9.4 TWh of dispatchable renewable electricity per year to European markets such as Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and potentially Malta and France via additional interconnectors. Backers present the scheme as an intercontinental corridor that can help European states meet renewable energy and emissions‑reduction targets, while in Tunisia it is promoted as a driver of industrial development, improved energy security, local CSP know‑how and large‑scale job creation, with projections of thousands of direct and tens of thousands of indirect jobs. At the same time, critical analyses from civil society and research organisations highlight that the export‑oriented ownership structure, heavy use of collective desert lands and the fact that the project is not planned to connect to Tunisia’s own grid raise concerns about local benefits, land and water impacts, and the broader justice of an energy transition geared primarily to supplying European demand. Beyond TuNur, Maltese investors have established a modest but growing presence in Tunisia, with 20 companies involving Maltese participation and foreign direct investment of around 106 million dinars generating roughly 2,000 jobs. Business forums, company missions and memoranda of understanding between chambers of commerce and professional associations in Malta and Tunisia have targeted joint projects and alliances in sectors such as construction, agribusiness, processing industries, tourism, financial services, technology and the emerging aerospace and renewable energy industries. Tunisian investment promotion bodies, including FIPA‑Tunisia and the Tunisia Investment Authority, actively court Maltese and other foreign investors with incentives, streamlined procedures and public‑private partnership frameworks, positioning Tunisian and Maltese investors as key partners in export‑oriented, capital‑intensive projects, especially in the energy and infrastructure space.