A Turkish business delegation is set to visit Libya within the next two weeks to assess how Turkish companies and banks can help rebuild the war-torn country and secure its energy needs, two people familiar with the plan told Reuters Wednesday.
Ankara has made increasingly clear its ambitions for lasting cooperation with Tripoli on oil exploration, construction, banking and manufacturing after its military support helped the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) reverse a 15-month offensive.
The sources said politicians could join the upcoming trip by what they called a “committee” of business representatives.
They will craft a business plan and initially focus on meeting Libya’s energy needs and rebuilding and renewing its infrastructure, the Turkish official and industry official said.
The power cuts in the country and solutions to meet the rising demand were said to be among the topics discussed during the meeting last month.
Karadeniz Holding, Turkish operator of floating electricity plants, known as powerships, last week said it is preparing a bid to supply up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Libya and will submit it soon.
Before Turkey officially threw its support behind the GNA, Turkish builders had worked on projects in Libya. The backlog of Turkish contract work there amounts to $16 billion, a sector official said in January.