Libya takes small steps to restart desal pipeline

The body behind Libya’s desalination programme has restarted work on its pipeline of projects for the first time since the revolution that ousted the Gaddafi regime. The General Desalination Company of Libya (GDCOL) hopes to take on a consultant before the end of the year to provide project supervision and technical studies for a number of facilities.

These include expansions to existing plants and three proposed new SWRO installations in Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata, with a combined capacity of just under 1 million m³/d. GDCOL chairman Abdulmonem Ali Elhassadi told GWI that the company is in discussion with a number of consultants, and is still open to offers from others. He emphasised, however, that discussions remain at a relatively early stage. The current planning seems to foresee new desal projects as EPC contracts, rather than the ambitious plans for BOTs envisaged before the revolution.