The Director General of the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund, Belqasim Haftar, stressed the need to continue supporting development and reconstruction projects in Libya in a consistent and increasing manner, adding: “Give me responsibility for the development related to the National Oil Corporation, and then hold me accountable.”
Haftar explained that support for development should not fluctuate from one year to another, noting that reconstruction projects require continuous and increasing funding to ensure their implementation and achieve tangible results on the ground.
He added that the road network in Benghazi and surrounding areas, as well as several cities in southern Libya, is witnessing significant improvement, expecting these areas to see noticeable changes over the next three years as a result of ongoing infrastructure projects.
Haftar also stated that spending in previous years had been wasted on what he described as “phantom projects.” He added that one government once announced spending about 5 billion dinars on stationery, equivalent to nearly 4 billion dollars, according to his remarks.
In contrast, he said that Parliament allocated 10 billion dinars for the reconstruction of Derna following the disaster caused by Storm Daniel, explaining that work on these projects has been ongoing since 2024 and 2025 and that the allocated amount has not yet been fully disbursed, despite the implementation of major projects in Derna and neighboring cities affected by the storm.
Haftar emphasized that rebuilding the city of Derna was a major challenge due to the scale of destruction caused by the disaster, stating that if another government had handled the task, debris might still be present until today, as he put it. He added that work over just two years contributed to restoring the city to a better condition than before.
He also addressed the Oasis region, describing it as “rich underground but poor above ground,” despite producing about two-thirds of Libya’s oil output. He pointed out that infrastructure in Oasis cities suffers from severe deterioration in basic services such as schools and hospitals.
Haftar stressed that these areas require serious attention from the Libyan state to improve their service and development conditions, affirming that the responsible authorities are capable of implementing real projects that citizens can feel on the ground.
Meanwhile, one of the elders and tribal leaders of Ajdabiya responded by saying: “Oil is beneath our feet. If reconstruction stops, then oil should stop, and everything should stop. We are already losing… Reconstruction is a red line.”
