Prime Minister Ali Zeidan [Zidan] (pictured) has said that LD 20 billion [$15 billion] has been allocated in the budget to existing and stalled projects executed by foreign companies.
According to the report from Libya Herald, Zeidan said that Libya will lose twice because it already paid for these projects and the (foreign) companies will start court cases against us if we don’t pay them.
Moreover, he said that it is possible that the claims could be paid from Libya’s frozen accounts overseas, therefore Libya must spend on existing projects and compensate companies, he added, and that the existing budget is barely enough to cover that.
The implication from Zeidan’s statement is that his government is in favour of paying foreign contractors and that it may be the GNC which is stalling on this policy.
It will be interesting to see if there is a slight shift in policy by the GNC under its new head Nuri Abusahmain, who is more business friendly in view of his business background and stronger business connections relative to his predecessor.
The Libyan government had in theory offered foreign contractors 50 percent of their outstanding debts upon recommencing their work, with subsequent payments to follow.
(Source: Libya Herald)
