A white foundation stone next to a deserted beach near the soporific Libyan port of Susah is all to show for a seven-year dream to build one of North Africa’s biggest ports. Such major foreign investment would be rare for Libya, in chaos and conflict since the 2011 toppling of Muammar Gaddafi. Their goal is for Libya to fully exploit its privileged Mediterranean location to become a major commercial hub between Africa and Europe. For an hour, Elhasi passionately defended his vision against concerns the port could be yet another white elephant of the many dotted around Africa. “Many young people here don’t have a job,” said Sofyan al-Obeidi, a fisherman and pharmacy student hoping the port project would give him a career.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 13, 2019 13:07 UTC