Construction has long been a mainstay of the Tunisian economy, and this year new projects will help stimulate an economy that is likely to see a contraction resulting from the global financial crisis. Since Gulf investors stepped up their interest in 2006, the construction sector has been dominated by high-end, mixed-use developments, but this year domestic spending on infrastructure and housing is a top priority. Tunisia’s fourth largest industry in 2008 was construction. According to Chokri Driss, the director of the National Federation of Buildings and Public Works Entrepreneurs, it accounted for approximately 7 percent of the economy and employed 33 percent of the working population. But its strength is a relatively recent development. Although the government has long encouraged private investment, the sector suffered from a lack of financing until 2006 and was characterized by small-scale local investments. Since then, the promise of Gulf investments totaling nearly $50 billion
