Activity at Libyan ports is slowly returning to normal following the end of the civil war. Sergey Ponomarev / AP Photo
Activity at Libyan ports is slowly returning to normal following the end of the civil war. Sergey Ponomarev / AP Photo

Liberated Libya finally on the move again



Flying into Tripoli International Airport offers the traveller an aerial view of Libya's pressing challenges as well as its future potential.

First the plane flies over the Mediterranean coastline, scattered with sleepy ports ringed by the hulks of Libyan warships bombed during last year's Nato campaign.

As the aircraft descends, passengers peering below see a cluster of cranes and scaffolds encasing the shell of a new terminal taking shape at the edge of the airport.

The airport lies dormant other than a few ageing planes painted in the livery of the country's two state-owned carriers, Afriqiyah Airways and Libyan Airlines.

Breathing fresh life into the transport sector is viewed as an urgent priority for Libya's interim government as it seeks to get the country back on its feet.

Getting oil shipments out of Libya's sea ports and rich investors through its airports is vital to helping kick-start the economy.

Under the late Muammar Qaddafi's 42-year rule, the country's infrastructure stagnated from neglect and under-investment.

While the interim regime is realistic about how much change can happen before a permanent government is elected, its members want to at least get started.

"We have a lot to do to tidy up our home," says Yousef El Uheshi, the interim transport minister. "Transport needs money. We are talking about billions in investment that is needed."

Activity at the ports is slowly returning again after fighting and sanctions hampered the flow of oil during the civil war to oust Qaddafi.

French warships arrived in the capital in January to help remove mines encircling the country's oil ports. The mines were placed by Qaddafi's regime to stop oil exports.

While the ports have long been used for the transport of oil, officials are keen to widen the mix of exports. That requires upgrading infrastructure and dredging the waterways to enable bigger ships to dock.

"We have to develop a new infrastructure for the sea ports, which we believe in the coming years is the future for the maritime industry," says Mr El Uheshi.

Officials are keen to learn from the port free zone model pioneered in Dubai by Jebel Ali Free Zone. Talks were held with representatives from DP World, the ports operator, who visited Libya in January. Misrata, a port to the east of Tripoli, already operates as a free zone but has been less successful at enticing foreign companies.

Although the interim government is keen to loosen the shackles of nationalisation on transport projects, it favours a gradual approach.

"It is too early to talk about privatisation, it's not something you can start straight away. We will start with a strategic partner which will serve us in the next 10 or 15 years," says Mr El Uheshi.

Opportunities are also presenting themselves in the aviation industry. Mr El Uheshi estimates at least US$8 billion (Dh29.38bn) of investment is required in the sector.

"Even before the Nato air strikes, the UN sanctions and the EU ban, Libya's aviation industry had little hope," the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation wrote in a recent analysis. As Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Cairo and other regional cities built hubs, Libya was left behind. Under Qaddafi, Libya placed little focus on its airlines and airports.

After the civil war erupted, passenger numbers plummeted by more than 1 million last year and foreign airlines cut their services. International airlines are gradually coming back as stability returns. In January, Etihad Airways launched routes between Abu Dhabi and Libya for the first time.

Afriqiyah Airways and Libyan Airlines are also back in the air. The carriers have signed agreements to borrow $1.1bn from a consortium of local banks to buy five Airbus A320 aircraft and six A350s under an order placed in 2007

In a bid to cut costs, officials hope to complete a merger of the two carriers by the first half of next year.

Work may also restart in "four to five months" on the new terminal building at Tripoli airport, says Mr El Uheshi.

In August 2007, a consortium of the Turkish airport specialist TAV, the Lebanese construction firm CCC, and Odebrecht, a Brazilian company, was awarded a contract to build two terminals with 160 check-in counters and 12 baggage handling carousels.

The investment in airports and airlines is intended to help Libya regain lost ground in the battle to create a hub and spoke model.

"We are not going to work on point A to B, it is an old-fashioned operation," Mr El Uheshi says. "We want to give a chance for our national airlines to be part of open skies and that's how you will see our airports be designed like a hub, as we want to connect east with west and north with south."

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Scoreline

Switzerland 5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Results

UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets

Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs

Friday fixtures

10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey

7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman

Bert van Marwijk factfile

Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder

Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia

Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands

Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Results

4pm: Al Bastakiya – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

4.35pm: Dubai City Of Gold – Group 2 (TB) $228,000 (Turf) 2,410m; Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

5.10pm: Mahab Al Shimaal – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Canvassed, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

5.45pm: Burj Nahaar – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson

6.20pm: Jebel Hatta – Group 1 (TB) $260,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Lord Glitters, Daniel Tudhope, David O’Meara

6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (TB) $390,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass

7.30pm: Nad Al Sheba – Group 3 (TB) $228,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Final Song, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

Result

Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2

Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)

MATCH INFO

Day 2 at the Gabba

Australia 312-1 

Warner 151 not out, Burns 97,  Labuschagne 55 not out

Pakistan 240 

Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52

Scores

Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press

Ten10 Cricket League

Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17

Teams

Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan

Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad

Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider

Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider

Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah

Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition

RESULTS

6.30pm: Handicap (rated 100 ) US$175,000 1,200m
Winner: Baccarat, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer)

7.05pm: Handicap (78-94) $60,000 1,800m
Winner: Baroot, Christophe Soumillon, Mike de Kock

7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 $200,000 1,600m
Winner: Heavy Metal, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

8.15pm: Handicap (95-108) $125,000 1,200m
Winner: Yalta, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer

8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 $200,000 1,800m
Winner: Promising Run, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor

9.25pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,800m
Winner: Blair House, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby

10pm: Handicap (95-105) $125,000 1,400m
Winner: Oh This Is Us, Tom Marquand, Richard Hannon

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

India squad for fourth and fifth Tests

Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari

How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

MATCH INFO

Quarter-finals

Saturday (all times UAE)

England v Australia, 11.15am 
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm

Sunday

Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm

Age 26

Born May 17, 1991

Height 1.80 metres

Birthplace Sydney, Australia

Residence Eastbourne, England

Plays Right-handed

WTA titles 3

Prize money US$5,761,870 (Dh21,162,343.75)

Wins / losses 312 / 181

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THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.