Libya's juicy reconstruction market stirs up greed

Rusty cranes on the carcasses of unfinished buildings follow one another along the corniche of Tripoli, the capital, a testament to an economy that has long been at a standstill.

Hundreds of projects, alone estimated at several billion dollars, were abandoned after the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, due to instability. They had been launched at the turn of the decade 2000-2010 by global behemoths.

These projects could nevertheless soon resume with a vengeance: the end of the fighting, in particular at the gates of the capital, and the installation last March of a unified executive authority to lead the transition rekindle the hope of reconstruction in a country. where existing infrastructure has also suffered greatly.

According to some estimates, the needs after the damage inflicted by a decade of conflict "exceed 100 billion dollars", underlines the Libyan economist Kamal Mansouri, who sees "Turkey, Italy and Egypt get the most big slice of the pie ".

Compared to Syria, a country bruised by ten years of war, "Libya will represent a greater field of competition for reconstruction", judges expert Samuel Ramani. And this "competition for contracts will be much more intense than in Syria," he adds.

"Reposition"

From the installation of the new transitional government in March, Tripoli became the scene of a diplomatic ballet, where the economy is never far away.

When the Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, visited the country a few days after the political clearing of the spring, he was accompanied by the boss of the Italian oil giant ENI.

Active in Libya since 1959, the Italian group is now positioning itself for the construction of a photovoltaic power plant in southern Libya.

A few weeks later, during a trip to Paris, Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah was received by the French employers' organization, the Medef, which wants to see the French companies "take an active part in the reconstruction".

At the beginning of June, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, came accompanied by several businessmen, in the hope of participating in "the reconstruction and development" of the country.

Libya's neighbors are not to be outdone: the Algerian group Sonatrach recently said it was considering resuming its activities, while Tunisian officials have stepped up calls to reactivate a collaboration vital for their economy, especially that of the south.

Discussions have also taken place with Egypt, for whom Libya was an important market before 2011, particularly in construction.

Taking advantage of its proximity to the elites of Tripolitania, Turkey has already positioned itself on major projects in the West.

Since the appointment of Mr. Dbeibah, himself from business circles, many bilateral "councils" have been reactivated, and "economic forums" have multiplied.

Activities Funding

"Libya has not built anything for 10 years, it has not maintained its infrastructure. It is a rich country which needs legitimate works", confides to AFP Jalel Harchaoui, specialist in Libya within from the Global Initiative think tank.

The electricity network is faulty, the infrastructure is flat: most airports have been damaged by the fighting and there are no rail lines or highways.

But this promising market is not without risks: "before 2011, there was an exceptional quantity of projects launched and awarded to China, Russia and Turkey. Except that Libya is no longer what it was in 2006, we do not know where the dollar reserves stand, we do not know if the security conditions are good, ”notes Mr. Harchaoui.

"Dbeibah imagined having the state budget since March, but this is still not the case," he insists.

Security remains precarious to this day. Foreign mercenaries are still stationed in the country, the militias have not been dismantled.

Politically, the legislative and presidential elections announced for December, supposed to complete the transition phase, seem more and more hypothetical. With the persistent risk of seeing the country plunge back into chaos.