The construction industry in Libya has seen huge changes over the decades. In the early 1950s, when Libya was recovering from the effects of WW2 and Italian occupation, and the national coffers had not yet been filled with oil revenue and funds were limited, construction was on a minimal scale, regarded by the majority of the population as a social activity, and the various skills needed were passed from generation to generation, with the use of indigenous local building materials¹.

Following Ghadafi’s revolution and the oil boom of the 1970s, huge spending amounts were invested by the Libyan government in developing certain key economic sectors, including the construction industry, which was viewed as critical to the overall development of the nation and its infrastructure. This led to a vast increase in construction projects. Both public and private sector companies were involved in this national construction boom, which saw the construction of much needed social housing, schools and business premises².

In 1975, the government put plans in place to restructure the construction sector to enable it to run in an efficient and organised manner. At the start of this period, there were approximately 2,000 contractors, many of which were run on a sole trader or partnership basis. The minister of housing was given authority to amalgamate these firms, leading to a smaller number of larger companies, this enabled the smaller ventures to carry out larger construction projects. Firms with capital in excess of LD30,000 were merged into larger corporations, and the majority shares were sold to the public or the government.

The many government-sponsored construction projects of the 1970s created a flourishing industry and by the end of the decade, Libya had become the world's leading per capita consumer of cement. This was a notable achievement, given that the 1978 housing law which limited each family to one residence, had virtually eliminated private residential construction³.

By the late seventies, the tenements of Benghazi, Tripoli and beyond were being replaced with new high-line apartment blocks and housing units, offering running water and electricity, but at some cost to the agricultural system, as much of the land used had previously been arable⁴.

The 1980’s resulted in several setbacks to the construction sector, including public anger and dissesion regarding the continued nationalisation of local private construction companies. Another damaging factor was the severe cutback in the number of foreign manual workers in the mid-1980s, with numbers falling dramatically. Despite this drop in the workforce, the construction industry remained the number one employer of Libyans during the mid-1980s. Eventually, in 1985, the economic cutbacks which resulted from a massive drop in oil revenue and loss of workforce, brought a near halt to the construction industry. This slow period would endure for two decades. Due to a crucial need for housing during the 1990s, the Libyan government made various plans to increase the number of housing units. However, these projects were notably unsuccessful, developing only 15.6% of projected units⁵.

In 2006, Libya set in place a new five year plan for the country, stating its economic policy up to 2011. This policy was to set a course of action in all sectors, promoting private enterprise, investment and the renewed development of housing programmes. The construction industry was once again opened up to private contractors following their abolishment in the mid-1970s. However, a lack of local labour and engineering knowledge entailed that Libya’s construction sector was once again reliant on foreign experts⁶.

Despite the many construction plans made by the Libyan government for the following decade, construction began to dwindle in 2011, with the Dawn Spring revolution. The ongoing civil war has meant labour and materials needed were now in short supply. However, just recently, Libya’s Economic and Social Development Fund has announced that the National Cement Co will be resuming production at its Souq Al-Khamis factory. The fund said security conditions in the region, which saw intensive fighting during the aggression on Tripoli, have improved since the cessation of military operations and the defeat of the Haftar militias in southern Tripoli. Therefore, the plant will be able to operate once again. This along with the current ceasefire will hopefully enable construction to begin again⁷.