Executive Director of Derna Reconstruction Fund, Belqasim Khalifa, and board chairman of Egyptian construction company Arab Contractors, Ahmed Al-Assar, signed today a “major” deal to rebuild city’s infrastructure.
According to a statement by Libya’s parliament-backed government, the agreement includes contracts for the construction of new bridges at the western entrance of the city of Derna, which was swept away by heavy floods in the aftermath of of Storm Daniel on September 10.
Both sides also signed a contract to construct a bridge at the top of Wadi Abu Mahboul on the sea road linking the cities of Sousse and Derna, and a bridge at the top of Wadi Markus on the sea road also linking the two cities.
During the ceremony, Belqassim Khalifa stressed upon “the necessity of completing the work as soon as possible in order to solve the bottlenecks that the city of Derna suffers from, with the need to maintain quality,” according to the government’s statement.
Last Wednesday, the parliament-backed government, led by Prime Minister Osama Hammad, announced the formation of the Derna Reconstruction Fund, and appointed Belqassim Khalifa as executive director of the fund.
Yesterday, Belqassim Khalifa and Osama Hammad visited Dena, examining the scale of flood damage in multiple locations.