The eastern based branch of the state Libyan News Agency (LANA) reported last Monday (19 January) that work began on the same day on the Zawia Airport development and construction project, under the supervision of the National Development Agency (NDA).
Zawia is located about 48 kms west of Tripoli on the main coastal road to the Tunisian border.
A signboard has been put up at the intended location, and a photo of which, has been widely circulated on social media, announcing the NDA project and naming Turkish company SRJ as the implementor.
LANA reported that informed sources within the NDA had informed it that the project is being implemented by the Turkish company SRJ International, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen infrastructure and develop the aviation sector in the country.
It went on to add that the project aims to improve the airport’s efficiency and provide a safe and suitable environment for civil aviation, thereby supporting economic development and connecting Zawia to the rest of the country.
Foundation stone unveiling
It will be recalled that on 3 December 2025 photos on social media circulated of a foundation stone unveiling ceremony announcing the location of the proposed airport (in the Bin Shuaib area) located 35 km south of Zawia.
This took place in the presence of the eastern-based Minister of Interior, the eastern-based Minister of Transport, and several members of the House of Representatives and the Supreme Council of State. The airport construction came by virtue of the eastern Libyan government’s decree no 78 of 2025 dated 19 November 2025.
The NDA is a Hafter controlled entity
The intriguing part of this LANA-reported story is that the Sirte-based NDA is a Hafter family-controlled Sirte-based government entity. It has numerous projects all in the central-eastern part of Libya, from Sirte and southwards – but none in the Tripoli controlled western part of Libya.
This raises the question of whether this is indeed a genuine project or a piece of Hafter power-play propaganda implying his reach stretches as far west as Zawia. It could be a play to gain further support from Zawia by showing his supporters in the city the eastern-based regime is investing in Zawia – while the Tripoli regime is not.
It also poses the question of how the NDA can implement a project in west Libya, and how can an alleged Turkish company, SRJ, operate in west Libya if it is employed and accountable to the NDA?
One partial explanation, of course, is that Zawia is politically a split city with a sizeable portion of the city supporting and loyal to Hafter rather than to the Tripoli government.
It will be interesting to see how and if the Zawia airport project does indeed progress as it could set an important precedent for Hafter on multiple levels in western Libya.
