Indian Punj Lloyd to build the infrastructure in Zliten

TRIPOLI – Indian engineer giant Punj Lloyd recently signed a half-billion dollar deal for large-scale infrastructure construction in Zliten.

“We wish to inform that the company has been awarded a contract to design and construct infrastructure facilities of Zliten city (Libya),” Punj Lloyd said in a filling to the Bombay Stock Exchange mid-April.

The company reported that the approximate cost of the project is worth $540 million USD and encompasses the design and construction of the storm and sewer network, water network, telecommunication, power distribution and natural gas networks. For the finishing touch, the company will also be constructing street lighting and the landscaping and green areas adjacent to the roadways.

Covering over 2,400 hectares, the infrastructure project is a make-over of essentially the entire area of Zliten city. The scheduled completion date is four years.

This deal comes amid some chaos in government, with several Libyan Ministers recently leaving office under pressure and continuing strains between the central government in Libya and the country’s historical sections.

While tensions have markedly cutting the amount of oil being exported — Libya’s monetary lifeline — reports on April 28 by the National Oil Corporation were that the government had lifted “force majeure” from the eastern Zueitina oil port. Plans are for the government to start selling oil from the port within the week.

Zueitina is one of four eastern ports to be reopened after the Libyan government reached agreements with separatists who took control of the ports last summer.