On Sunday, Minister of Transport in Libya’s outgoing Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohamed Al-Shahoubi held talks with the Italian consortium, Aeneas. This was to discuss resuming the reconstruction of Tripoli International Airport.
The airport was closed in the summer of 2014, after it was damaged in clashes between rival armed groups fighting for control of the city.
The meeting was attended by the Italian Ambassador to Libya, Giuseppe Buccino who said that the “talks focused on the expected resumption of reconstruction work at Tripoli International Airport as soon as possible.” He also described the meeting as “very positive.”
Libya has remained beset by turmoil since leader, Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
Notably, the country is currently facing a political crisis after Parliament swore in a new Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha to lead a new interim government in February. MP’s argued that the incumbent PM, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba’s mandate expired when the elections failed to take place.
Dbaiba has refused to cede power, amid the fallout from a failed attempt to hold national elections in December. He also warned that the appointment of a new interim government could lead to war and chaos in the country. He renewed his pledge to only hand power over to an elected government
Libya was due to hold elections in December, as part of an UN-guided peace process. Political factions wrangled over their legal basis, and the eligibility of controversial candidates, resulting in the polls being indefinitely postponed.