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By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 14 August 2013:
The Prime Minister’s office confirmed the news, as reported by Libya Herald yesterday, of the . . .[restrict]imminent start of the construction of the coastal motorway from the Egyptian border to the city of Marj.
Moreover, the statement on the PM’S website stated that the execution time for the project is between 2-3 years and that the contract would be signed within two weeks.
The statement also revealed that 30 days after the signing of the contract, preparation work is to begin, followed by implementation – without giving any further details.
The second phase of the coastal motorway project, agreed by Qaddafi and Berlusconi in August 2008 as compensation for the colonization of Libya by Italy, would be the implementation of the stretch from the Tunisian border to Misrata.
The designs for this phase of the project are complete, the statement said, and the necessary documentation for a general tender process to be opened at the end of September, are being prepared.
It will be interesting to see if, in view of the current security situation in Libya, the contract is indeed signed within two weeks, and whether it will entail the contractors starting implementation 30 days after the signing.
This will not be the first announcement of a contract being signed in Libya recently, but questions remain on foreign companies’ ability to execute in present circumstances.
Indeed, there are hundreds if not thousands of pre 2011 stalled projects all over Libya awaiting recommencement. Many foreign contractors await compensation and payment settlements and a secure environment within Libya before considering starting or restarting operations. [/restrict]
