A new era starts for constractors in post-Gadhafi Libya

Turkish firms mainly in the construction business operating in Libya are eyeing a chance to return to “new Libya,” after months of absence due to political turmoil and a civil war in the country that has cost them billions of dollars. “Nearly $141 billion of assets are frozen by the Western nations and [the Libya administration] may pay Turkish companies once these funds are released,” said Ersin Takla, chairperson of Turkish-Libyan Business Council at Foreign Economic Board of Turkey, or DEİK. Both Turkey and Western countries are still waiting for clashes to calm down, according to Takla. “There is no doubt that Turkey will benefit from recognizing Libya’s main opposition group as the country’s legitimate government almost a month ago,” he said. According to him, the Libyan opposition groups have already acknowledged previously granted rights of Turkish business during the Libya Contact Group meeting on July 15 in Istanbul. Takla said the business council was recently invited to Libya by the Libyan opposition. Turkey still has $2.5 billion in assets, funds and pending payments in Libya, Takla said, adding that the firms have $950 million worth of assets in the country, $1.4 billion in overdue payments and nearly $100 million in Libyan banks.