Airport expansion will handle increasing traffic

LIBYA’s airports are to be expanded and modernized. Tripoli International Airport is to get a new terminal, and a completely new airport is to be built at Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi.

Development of airports in tourist destinations such as Ghat and Ghadames has also started, and there are major expansion plans for the airport in Sebha, in the south of the country, which is important for international traffic between Europe and Africa.

Mohamed Shlebik, Secretary General of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), believes there is huge potential in the civil aviation sector and many opportunities for international and regional aviation companies to participate in its development. “We have big plans, which require international support.” he says.

At Tripoli airport, the plan is to construct a new terminal, with a capacity of five million passengers a year. “Expansion will continue until we reach a passenger capacity of twelve million per year. We expect the first phase of this project to be finalized within two and a half years after we begin in mid-2006.”

The CAA will finance the expansion at Tripoli airport itself, but will need the backing of foreign investors for the new airport at Benghazi. Proposals have already been put forward by international companies on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. “We are still negotiating the possibilities in this area,” says Dr. Shlebik.

“To date, we have not approved the expansion of international flights in and out of Benghazi, due to its limited capacity. However, we expect large growth rates after finalizing these projects, which will take about three and a half years to complete.”

The CAA will be looking for private companies to take over some small domestic airports, allowing it to concentrate on the international airports. “Private companies have more flexibility than state-owned entities like our authority, therefore we assume that they will be more successful in operating small airports,” Dr. Shlebik explains.

Today, there are five private airlines operating in Libya in addition to two state-owned ones. Libyan Arab Airlines is still the number one carrier with the largest market share, but needs to modernize its fleet.