Nearly three decades ago, 50-year-old Abdulmajed Abu Saeeda and his colleagues spent six years abroad in Hungary and Romania to study railroad operations. But when they returned to Libya, they found that military service was waiting for them. Today, Abu Saeeda fears his dream of seeing a railroad constructed in Libya may never come true.
The idea to establish railroads in Libya started as far back as in 1901, but up till today, a railroad project has not even been initiated.
New generation
Nearly three decades ago, 50-year-old Abdulmajed Abu Saeeda and his colleagues spent six years abroad in Hungary and Romania to study railroad operations. But when they returned to Libya, they found that military service was waiting for them. Today, Abu Saeeda fears his dream of seeing a railroad constructed in Libya may never come true.
The idea to establish railroads in Libya started as far back as in 1901, but up till today, a railroad project has not even been initiated.
New generation
When Abu Saeeda – along with 1026 other colleagues – returned to Libya in 1986 he was appointed to the Sewage Facility instead of the railroad station project. After the 2011 February Revolution, he and his colleages were given a glimmer of hope. ”We formed a team of engineers and technicians and submitted a proposal of operation, but we were shocked when the project’s officials told us to ’give the opportunity to the new generation’,” he explained.
But now, with Libya in the midst of a civil war and two separate government, a new generation will not have a new opportunity, as the project has been suspended and will not be launched any time soon.
Security reasons
Ali Ibrahim Saeed, Head of the Project’s Internal Relations and Media Department, said: “Like the other developmental projects in Libya, this project was suspended for security reasons and it will not be started unless foreign companies return to Libya.”
He added that the value of the contracts signed with the companies exceeds 15 billion Libyan Dinars (around 11 billion US dollars). “The most difficult and costly phase comprises opening tracks and paving roads which requires huge efforts and a lot of time,” he explained.
The project’s administration, he said, aspires to implementing railroads that extend from Um Saed in the east to Ras Ajadeer in the west and from Hisha in the north to Sabha in the south. It also aims at linking Libya with the Maghreb countries through experienced and competent international companies which meet international standards.
Expropriation
Saeed added that the administration has gone through many phases including expropriating lands, stressing that 60% of the project’s lands are now expropriated. He also explained that they are facing many obstacles which hinder their work including electricity cables, the artificial river’s pipes and the refusal of some people to cede their lands.
As for Tripoli’s railroads, Saeed revealed that the administration is reconsidering the previously agreed upon designs. “After the revolution, Tripoli needed a rescue operation due to the traffic crisis,” he underlined.
Issam Tamoni, Head of the Roads and Transportation Department in the Ministry of Transportation in the Rescue Government, said his ministry is still studying the problem of opening tracks and the paving works since many of those who ceded their lands, which contain railroads, changed their minds as they reject the compensations offered to them under the previous regime.
”A great deal of the project’s lands were expropriated under the pretext that ‘lands are communal’ which is actually a quotation from the Gaddafi’s Green Book. This represents a dilemma which hampers the ministry’s work. In addition, the allocated budgets were not provided and the contracted projects were suspended since the implementing companies have left Libya.”
Department of Accountability
All of these justifications which were cited by the Railroads Facility and the Ministry of Transportation were not enough as a report issued by the Department of Accountability in April revealed that the actual implementation percentage is far less than planned especially in regards to the strategic operations. Moreover, no measures were taken towards the companies which have not started implementing the contracted projects which have been stopped for a long time.
The report also showed that the designs of the Tripoli-Cert track were not finished and that no measures were taken to force the implementing companies which have not finished their work to resume their operations according to the set timetable.
Additionally, the report indicated that the procurement timetables do not meet the implementation schedules including the procurement of rails which cover 375 kilometers (at a cost of 21 million Libyan Dinars) when only 5-6 kilometers were implemented in addition to the procurement of fixings at 18 million Libyan Dinars (13,000,000) when only 6% of the process was implemented. Furthermore, rails and fixings at a cost of 14 million Libyan Dinars (US $10,300,000) were supplied, but were not installed in the Hisha-Sabha’s track.
According to official statistics, the road infrastructure is very poor in Tripoli whose population is around 3.5 million people and contains nearly 750,000 vehicles that move, in one hour, which contributes in one way or another to the increase of traffic jams and congestion that waste time and fuel.
Until the railroads project is implemented, which is expected to solve the traffic congestions problem, the issue of people waiting in queues at the gasoline stations remains more important than the security reasons. These people are simply trying to provide for their families and lay their hands on some gasoline to escape when danger approaches.
