MANZIL BU RUQAYBAH

also spelled Menzel-bourguiba, formerly Ferryville, town, north-central Tunisia. It lies on the southwestern shore of Lake Banzart, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Bizerte town and the Mediterranean Sea. Manzil Bu Ruqaybah, which is of modern origin, owes its development to the adjacent naval base and dockyard at Sidi 'Abd Allah (Sidi Abdallah) and was named after Tunisia's first president, Habib Bourguiba. Although its prosperity declined considerably following the French evacuation of naval installations in 1963, the town and its economy were greatly rejuvenated after the establishment of an iron and steel complex, an automobile assembly plant, and metallurgical and chemical industries. Roads and a railway link Manzil Bu Ruqaybah with Bizerte. Pop. (1989 est.) 47,340.