LIBYA: China Civil Engineering Construction Corp and Libyan Railways have signed a memorandum of understanding which could see work resume on the stalled national railway project.
The MoU was signed during the World Congress on High Speed Rail in Beijing on July 12, following a meeting the previous day between the Libyan Railways delegation and CCECC in the presence of the Libyan ambassador.
The meeting is reported to have discussed restarting work on the 170 km coastal route west from Tripoli to Ras Ejder on the Tunisian border, the 472 km route east from Tripoli to Surt, and the 810 km route from Misratah inland to iron ore deposits near Sabha.
CCECC is part of China Railway Construction Corp, which was awarded contracts to build the lines in 2008 when completion was planned for by 2013.
Russian Railways also had a contract to build a 554 km line parallel to the coast between Surt and Banghazi. However, the civil war brought work on the lines to a halt in 2011.
