Last Tuesday (3 April), a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Libya’s Airports Authority and two foreign companies to finance the new Tripoli Airport project.
The MoU was signed by the head of the Libyan Airports Authority, Mohamed Bait Al Mal, and Cenk Coskun representing the Turkish company Terminal Yapı, as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors Mohamed Al-Sayed Ibrahim, in his capacity as Director of Project Management, signed on behalf of the UK registered ERG International.
The Tripoli based Ministry of Transport reported that the two companies submitted a proposal to it to form a joint venture between them to finance the new Tripoli Airport project, based on their extensive experience in the field of investment in airports.
It reported that the MoU aims to establish and determine the technical and financial foundations that will be agreed upon between the parties to move forward with the signing of a final contract for the investment project. This, it added, will include financing infrastructure projects and rehabilitating the airport and operating it in a way that ensures the development and improvement of the services provided by it and meets the standards and requirements stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The Transport Ministry said that despite the challenges facing the air transport sector in Libya at the present time, signing this memorandum and proceeding with the implementation of the project is considered an important step towards strengthening international cooperation, attracting foreign investments, the return of international airlines to resume their flights to and from Libya, and achieving sustainable development in the aviation sector in the country.
It added that it is expected that this strategic cooperation with the coalition of the two companies will achieve positive results, as it will contribute to alleviating the burden on the state by financing the project from outside the general budget. It will also contribute to the localization of modern technologies and the transfer of knowledge and experience in the field of civil aviation.
Analysis
It must be noted that according to Companies House entry today, the UK open-source online company register, ERG International UK Ltd is an active company registered in London.
It was established in October 2017 as a private limited company as Alpine Invest (UK) Ltd with a correspondence address in Malta.
It has five current active officers, including company director Turkish national, but UK resident, Murat Dedeoglu, and company director Mustafa Sani Erbilgin, who is a German national and UK resident. Erbilgin is listed as the ‘‘person with the most significant control’’. There is also another German and a French director.
Libyan media has interpreted these facts as Turkish control of the whole Tripoli airport project and payback to Turkey for all it has done for the Tripoli based governments – including the war against Hafter and restarting Turkish Airlines flights to Tripoli.
It must be kept in mind that this is an MoU and not a binding contract. Its is but a ‘‘thank you’’ or a political signal of intent.
