The development objective of the Project is to assist the Tunisian Government in strengthening the key elements of sustainability of municipal solid waste management. This objective will be achieved through the operationalization of a planning and implementation system of solid waste management at the national and local levels and through the rehabilitation of a number of environmentally harmful dumpsites. There are 2 components to the Project. The first component, institutional support and capacity building, has as its primary objective to finance technical assistance and capacity building activities benefiting the national institutions involved in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of municipal solid waste management policies, programs, and projects. This component will also support the establishment of a decentralized municipal solid waste management system at the regional and inter-municipal level with the purpose of introducing gradual measures to achieve cost optimization and cost recovery. The second component, infrastructure construction, landfill gas collection and treatment, and dumpsites rehabilitation will finance: (i) the construction of a 5th cell in Djebel Chekir landfill in greater Tunis; and (ii) the design, construction, and operation of a biogas management system for five years in the Djebel Chekir landfill, as well as the first cell of each of the nine new landfills in Bizerte, Nabeul, Sousse, Monastir, Kairouan, Sfax, Gabes, Jerba and Medinine.