Ryszard Bouvier TRIPOLI – Libya's pressing problems with housing and infrastructure have been the focus of heightened activity in the past two weeks with a flurry of international visits, ministerial meetings and conferences. Events included a state visit to Iraq, an extraordinary session of the General National Congress (GNC), a sector-wide conference and several high-level meetings in Tripoli and Benghazi. In one of the first state visits by a member of the recently sworn in Libyan cabinet, Minister of Housing and Utilities Ali Hassan Al-Sharif took part in a regional conference on housing and construction in Baghdad Tuesday. Speaking to the press, the minister and his Iraqi counterpart spoke about lessons to be learnt from Iraq's challenges experienced over the past decade, and the importance of cooperation between Arab countries. Meanwhile, Libya's own issues are being discussed at a national and local level. Also Tuesday, deputy Prime Minister Abdussalam Al-Qadi gave the General National Congress an overview of the country's requirements and plans in the field of housing and infrastructure. Pointing out present shortcomings, he emphasized the need to improve public services in various fields, including health, education, sanitation, communication, transportation and electricity. Speaking to the GNC, Al-Qadi laid out his government's priorities for the coming year. In order to improve drinking water supply, 185 ground water wells will be dug, and maintenance work will be carried out on 52 pumping stations and 53 reservoirs. The sewage system will also be extended as part of the one-year plan, and public housing contracts that have already been signed will be concluded in the next nine months. The government reportedly wants to move against the phenomenon of unauthorized dwellings and the occupation of public property, a symptom of Libya's persistent housing crisis. In order to justify such moves and tackle the problem quickly, the Ministry of Housing and Utilities plans to set up 6,500 prefabricated housing units as a temporary solution. Such measures will give the government some more time to decide on the resumption of largerscale construction projects that have been on hold since the revolution. The GNC session coincided with a sector-wide conference, titled the First National Conference on Housing in Libya, that took place in Benghazi this week bringing together public and private sector stakeholders. Discussions at the conference focused on four points: the housing crisis, urban planning and infrastructure requirements, the legal aspect of construction, and environmental and social concerns. The stated objective of the conference was to identify a comprehensive framework for the government's housing policy, taking into account both present needs and sustainable development imperatives. Among the conclusions of the conference was that Libya's housing needs should be redefined, taking into account recent demographic changes, such as the establishment of new communities in various parts of the country. Participants also called for a greater degree of autonomy to be granted to the different regions and communities. Developing the eastern region has been the main focus of recent discussions. In the days leading up to the GNC session, Benghazi Local Council received a number of high level visits from the capital. On December 13, second deputy PM Awad Al-Barasi was in the eastern city for talks with the head of the Local Council, Mahmoud Buraziza, on matters related to security, development and decentralization. Transport Minister Abdel-Qader Mohamed Al-Ayib also held talks with the Council regarding stalled construction projects such as the development of the city's seaport and extension of Benina International Airport. In parallel to this, talks have been taking place on a more technical level. Managers of the Organization for the Development of Administrative Centers (ODAC), Libya's public authority in that supervises large infrastructure development projects, met with Local Council members and some of the contractors in the East who have not yet been able to resume their construction work. As part of their lobbying for a more decentralized system of government, local officials and private sector stakeholders suggested creating an autonomous branch of ODAC for the Eastern region. As a first step to reviving the construction sector, five hotels in Benghazi are to be renovated over the next few months.– Libya Herald
