Reconstructing battered Libya is a work in progress

Physical rebuilding is ongoing but restoring the country's reputation will take longer

October 16, 2024, 2:53 PM

Restoration work at Sahaba Mosque on the first anniversary of the flood which devastated the city of Derna in Libya

In September last year Storm Daniel devastated eastern Libya with torrential rain and 70mph winds.

Up to 6,000 people were killed and thousands more were made homeless. Two dams around Derna near the Egypt border failed.

In January a report from the UN, EU and World Bank put the cost of repairing that damage to the eastern region at $1.65 billion, while reconstruction and recovery will cost another $1.8 billion.

Then in February the House of Representatives, which sits in the east of the country, approved a proposal to set up a Libyan Development and Reconstruction Fund (LDRF), with a mission to repair and revitalise Libyan cities.

The fund is headed by Belgassim Haftar, son of Khalifa Haftar, a former general who dominates eastern Libya, and has been allocated 10 billion Libyan dinars ($2.1 billion) by the House of Representatives.

Progress is being made. In recent months 550 vital projects, ranging from new dams and schools to hospitals and housing projects, have been launched. Parks and leisure facilities are also in the works, with the main contracts being awarded to Egyptian companies.

Recent visitors to Derna say that the city is undergoing a complete makeover.

On the first anniversary of the disaster, LDRF’s Haftar announced that 60 schools and colleges, as well as 10 bridges, including the Wadi Derna project and an adjacent dual carriageway, have been 60 percent restored.

Derna University has also reached 50 percent completion and the Wahda Hospital is 25 percent reconstructed. The Harish Therapeutic and Teaching Hospital opened in October.

The historic Sahaba Mosque has been restored to 90 percent of its pre-storm condition, while the electricity and road networks are repaired by almost 70 percent.

Major progress has also been achieved in restoring 2,000 houses and a further 1,500 homes have been built for the displaced.

Benghazi hopes

Rebuilding Benghazi has also begun following the ravages of the Libyan civil war, exacerbated by storms and flooding.

Benghazi is the second-most populous city in Libya. It has completely renovated its huge main university and sports stadium, and restored some bridges and housing projects.

The National Development Agency, a subsidy of LDRF, is involved in Benghazi’s reconstruction and has signed a deal with Dubai-owned Emaar and a cohort of Emirati builders. Emaar’s chairman Mohamed Alabbar visited Benghazi in mid-August.

Emaar has been instructed to design and build the new Benghazi Downtown and the Elmereisa Free Zone. The latter is billed as a new international trans-shipment hub, which sits on a world trading route.

Backers say Benghazi’s Elmereisa Free Zone will be the largest in north Africa

A huge part of the city’s seafront and the old central residential areas, representing almost 25 percent of the city, have been emptied of inhabitants. They will soon be ready for the construction of various residential, working and leisure spaces.

The Elmereisa Free Zone is located 20 kilometres south east of Benghazi, covering almost 130 hectares. Its backers say that it will be the largest free zone in north Africa.

It is hoped that the Elmereisa Free Zone will provide 50,000 direct job opportunities and nearly 400,000 indirect jobs by the year 2050.

The area will be divided into two sectors. A civil sector will house clusters that cover hospitality, conferences, technology, research, finance, media and the EFZ authority.

An industrial sector will cover trading and transhipment, general industry, water and power, petroleum services, food processing and waste.

When completed, it is hoped the Elmereisa Free Zone will be a symbol of positivity for the future of Libya, as well as an engine of economic growth.

Progress ahead?

During a visit to Washington last month, Belgassim Haftar held a series of high-level meetings to facilitate partnerships between US and Libyan businesses.

It was agreed to set up a US-Libya forum mainly to attract American investment in sectors such as energy, infrastructure and technology. In the best-case scenario, this meeting could be the catalyst for new Public Private Partnership (PPP) deals.

However Libya’s government is still reeling from its most recent shock – the ousting of Sadiq Al-Kabir as governor of the Central Bank of Libya.

During his tenure Al-Kabir allocated further funds to the LDRF, but payments are currently on hold due to a decision by the Presidential Council in the west to relieve him of his services.

Almost every Western capital has voiced concern over the Central Bank of Libya’s fate and its ramifications for the livelihood and stability of Libyan citizens and the wider region.

Recent intensive negotiations have resulted in the parliament’s approval of Naji Mohamed Issa Belqasem as the new governor of the Central Bank of Libya and Mari Muftah Rahil Barrasi as his deputy.

The next challenge is to nominate and approve the bank’s board members.

Libya has a long way to go to reconnect itself to the global banking and financial circuits. Progress on this front is vital and can only happen through multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Given the grave events of the past few months and Libya’s fraught history, it will take substantial efforts to gain the respect and confidence of the international community.

Salem Maiar is a consultant in Libyan natural resources, finances and geopolitics