On Monday, Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, will host an international forum for the reconstruction of the war-torn country, with the participation of major Egyptian private and state companies. The exhibition of the “Libya International Forum for Urban Partners” will continue until May 27th.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Lieutenant-General Abdel Moneim Al-Terras, President of the Arab Organization for Industrialisation, affiliated with the Egyptian Army.
The Captain of the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate, Tarek Al-Nabawy, said that a cooperation protocol will be signed with his Libyan counterpart to benefit from Egyptian expertise. Al-Nabawy explained that the cooperation agreement allows the establishment of joint courses and workshops to enhance the technical and professional capacity of engineers and technicians in Libya.
Ashraf Abdel-Rahim, Executive Director of the Forum, stressed that the forum represents an opportunity to benefit from the Egyptian expertise in infrastructure, development and reconstruction projects.
Abdel-Rahim added that the skilled Egyptian workers will participate in the reconstruction of the neighbouring country. He noted that the reconstruction absorbs thousands of tons of Egyptian construction materials such as rebar, cement, bricks and others.
He recalled the statements of the Libyan Economy Minister, Osama Al-Ghuwail, who visited Egypt last September. “The Libyan Minister said the bill of Libya’s reconstruction is estimated at $111 billion, and the Egyptian companies will get the lion share with 70%, which equals $77.7 billion,” Abdel-Rahim said.
According to the estimates of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, Libya’s reconstruction will provide job opportunities for about three million Egyptians over the next three years.