Tunisia has begun work on a $488 million new airport near the capital Tunis to cash in on the growing tourism industry in the Arab state.

The new Al Wassat Airport will be located in Enfidha Ville, between the coastal resort cities of Hammamet and Sousse.
The Transport Ministry has allocated $23 million for acquisition of part of the 4,500 hectare site, 80 km south of Tunis.
The airport would be the biggest in Tunisia, which now has seven international airports.
A Tunisian company is expected to construct the airport on the Mediterranean coast. The airport will have an initial capacity of five million passengers in the first year, rising to 30 million passengers when the project is completed. It will have two 3,000 m runways, one orientated west-east and the other west-south. They will be able to serve any type of plane.
France Aeroports de Paris (AdP) has been awarded the $10 million design contract for the airport by the civil aviation authority.