Land reclamation in
Tripoli economic zone begins

Works to take 18 months

Reclamation of land in the Tripoli Special Economic Zone (TSEZ) is scheduled to start this week, according to Chairperson, Raya Haffar el Hassan.

The Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) awarded the tender to AlJihad for Commerce & Contracting, according to Ibrahim Chahrour, Director of the Planning and Programs department at the CDR. The 18-month long works include the reclamation of 550,000 square meters of sea, north of the Port of Tripoli. Rafik El Khoury & Partners will act as the consultant. The value of the contract is $22 million, including the Value Added Tax.

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North donated a 500 m2 premise to members of the TSEZ board for two years, on a pro bono basis. The chamber signed a cooperation protocol with the TSEZ board to provide financial and administrative support to its members.

Hassan Dinnawi, advisor to El Hassan on TSEZ, said: “Throughout this period, we will work on the administrative and financial levels.” The board is preparing the organigram of the TSEZ. “Only high level, tier one and tier two positions have been noted. We are working on distributing and dividing departments to figure out the competencies required for each,” Dinnawi said. The budget of TSEZ is estimated at around $66 million for the first two years. “The budget only requires the approval of the Ministry of Finance and does not need the Council of Minister’s approval,” he said.