By Gabriel Harrison.
Tunis, 3 August 2017:
The Misrata-based Libyan Ports Company has refused to relocate its headquarters from Misrata to Benghazi after being ordered to do so by the Beida-based government of Abdullah Al-Thinni.
The company, previously known as the Socialist Ports Company, said the order infringed Law No. 21 which established the company in 1985 and which stated that the headquarters were in Misrata.
Last month, following lobbying from the company officials based in Benghazi, the Beida government ordered the Misrata management to transfer the company to Libya’s second city. The order said that this was to be a temporary measure.
As a result of it and its rejection by the board in Misrata, there are now two parallel port companies. The Benghazi one, recognised by the interim government as well as the Libyan National Army and the House of Representatives, is headed by Captain Tarek Al-Thabet.
