Turkish builders demand $1.4 bln repayment for completed jobs in Libya

Turkey-Libyan Business Council Chairman Huseyin Ersin Takla said they expected to commence talks with Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) for the repayment of completed projects with a total value of $1.4 billion following the end of Eid-al Fitr. The largest share of Turkish investments in Libya is in the construction sector. Turkish construction companies have projects in Libya worth $23 billion. A large majority of these projects, worth $15 billion, are still under way. Turkish construction companies had to suspend projects in Libya following the recent country-wide unrest. Companies failed to receive the money for the projects they had completed prior to the problems. Evaluating the latest developments to the Anatolia news agency Thursday in Istanbul, Takla said 139 Turkish firms either started or agreed to start a total of 370 projects. Recalling that Turkish construction firms carried out $200 million worth of projects between 1972 and 1980, Takla said the total business volume was only $4 million in the past four years. Libyan authorities should compensate for the losses incurred during the unrest in the country. Construction sites owned by several Turkish firms in different Libyan cities have been looted during the anti-government protests and the belongings of Turkish citizens have also been looted by demonstrators.