The Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) will start manufacturing domestic gas cylinders in January or February of 2025. The news was revealed by LISCO chairman Mohamed Al-Faqih.
The revelation came as a side comment by Al-Faqih during his presentation at yesterday’s Tripoli workshop on ‘‘Libyan Industrial Exports – Reality and Prospects’’ organised by the Libya Industry Union (LIU) and the Libyan Experts Forum (LEF).
The cylinders’ subsidy problem
Libya suffers from a shortage of domestic gas cylinders. The state provider, Brega, does not make enough available on the market at the official subsidised price. Today, their black market price varies from LD 600 to LD 1,000, depending on if you are in coastal or regional Libya.
The problem is the scrap value of the cylinders is worth more than their value as a working gas cylinder. They are often illegally exported or smuggled to neighbouring countries to be used as raw material scrap metal.
