On March 19, 2013 a visit was realized to the Union of Tyre Region Municipalities. The Union of Tyre Region Municipalities is a partner in T-net project financed by European Union within the ENPI CBCMED Program

The overall goal of T-NET is to build an integrated local development, with the perspective in the long term, to implement a local welfare and an economic development process able to ensure a continued increase in standards of living, through the creation and protection of an environment conducive to the resources of individual communities and individual countries.

The key concepts that are the basis of the T-NET project are:

• Research and implementation of a model of integrated and sustainable social development consistent with the social priorities of each country and local context

• The construction and consolidation of regional networks, the network of networks and cross-border cooperation

• Capacity building of local governing through the application of methods and tools suitable for Strategic Territorial Planning

• Development of the skills and professionalism of all actors at every institutional level to contribute to the construction of a local Welfare and a local economic Development Process

The partners of the project are:

Lebanon: Federation of Municipality of Zgharta district, Union of Tyre Region Municipalities, Union of Jezzine Municipalities, Beirut South Suburb. 

Jordan: Greater Madaba Municipality

Italy: The Regional Authority of Tuscany

France: PACA, Regional Authority of Provence, Alps Côte d’Azur

The Specific objectives of the project are:

• Capacity – building in Lebanon and Jordan: to design and implement local strategies supported by socio-economic development policies and the creation of regional networks

• Empowerment of Local Authorities

• Networking, participatory process

The Union of Tyre Region Municipalities will develop in the T-NET project the cultural tourism in the area: protection and valorization of the local cultural heritage. In parallel the Union of Tyre Region Municipalities is in the process of preparing a strategic plan.

The project is carried with the cooperation of CDR who will take the responsibility of elaborating a tender document and the choice of a consultant. The strategy will be able to rely on the study resulting from the T-NET project.

During the visit to the Union of Tyre Region Municipalities on March 19, 2013, a meeting was held with the local coordinator of T-NET Miss Hala Chibli and with Mr.Hassan Hammoud, Mayor of the Municipality of Bourj Rahhal. Miss Chibli will follow the elaboration of the strategic project on behalf of the Union of Tyre Region Municipalities, once it starts.

The Technological platform manager Mr.Abdallah ABDUL WAHAB explained to Miss Chebli and to Mr.Hammoud the USUDS project objectives and the support that the KTC and the technological platform could present specially for the cities interested in building strategies for urban sustainable development.