11.02.13
South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction resumed work on projects in Libya after assurances on compensation and security from the interim government.

The popular uprising that led to the ouster of the late Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 led to a halt in foreign construction projects. Companies have been cautious about resuming those operations amid a rise of crime and incidents against foreigners, including the killing of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others in the eastern city of Benghazi in November.

Speaking in an interview in Tripoli yesterday, Korean minister counsellor Kyunghan Kim said he requested the Libyan government to expedite the process of re-evaluating all existing contracts and to resolve the compensation, non-payment, bond call, and escalation fees for resuming the projects. There are 19 South Korean construction companies with 25 projects worth a total of $10.6 billion in Libya and therefore the matter warrants imminent attention.