The man who controls Libya’s billion dollar development portfolio

Belgasim Haftar’s profile has significantly grown in importance this year as a result of his appointment by the HoR as the Director General of the Development and Reconstruction Fund in February.

The 44-year-old is now heading eastern and southern Libya’s development portfolio and supervising a slew of projects in the country. This has allowed Belgasim, the Government of National Stability (GNS) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) to garner international recognition as companies from the world over are interested in budding projects spearheaded by the Development and Reconstruction Fund.

A closer look

A graduate of civil engineering, Belgasim Haftar has over recent years taken on a clearly defined role in the division of labour among LNA Commander-in-Chief Khalifa Haftar’s sons. While Saddam Haftar has taken on a more prominent political and military role, Belgasim sees himself tasked with the increasingly important file of economic development.

The LNA appears to have understood that it needs to adjust its functions now that Libya is at a time of relative peace and that it cannot solely rely on its image of a security provider to maintain and build legitimacy. In other words, the LNA sees in Belgasim’s new positions an opportunity to reinvent itself, establish new ties with foreign partners, and drive up development to satisfy citizens.

Storm Daniel in September 2023 was a catalyst for Belgasim’s rise at the helm of the development portfolio as the damage incurred by the natural catastrophe reflected the dire infrastructure needs of the eastern region. Belgasim Haftar was assigned as Executive Director of the Reconstruction Fund for Derna in December 2023 by the House of Representatives (HoR).

In January 2024, he signed contracts with Egypt’s Arab Contractors Company to build new bridges in the west of Derna city (Wadi Markus and Wadi Mahboul bridges projects) and with the Emirati Global Contracting Company to establish sewage treatment and seawater desalination plants as well as dams for Derna’s Valley.

In February of this year, Belgasim Haftar’s role was vastly expanded as the HoR appointed him as Director General of the newly-formed Development and Reconstruction Fund, to which the affiliation of ten Libyan executive bodies were transferred. These entities include the Oil Crescent Development Authority, the Cities Development Authority, the Administrative Centers Development Authority, the Executive Authority for the Development of Oil Regions and Projects, the Public Projects Authority, the Reconstruction and Stability Committee, the Reconstruction and Stabilization Committee for the City of Al-Kufra, the Housing and Utilities Projects Implementation Agency, and the Roads and Bridges Authority.

With such a vast portfolio, the Director General of the Fund is meant to implement plans and programs for the reconstruction and development of Libyan cities in all regions. It is therefore primarily an urban project meant to target the majority of the population given that close to 82% of Libyans live in urban areas. Despite its nationwide mandate, the development entity has only been able to cater for the east and south of Libya, where the LNA and eastern-based Government of National Stability (GNS) hold control — although there may be room for projects in Tripolitania in the future.

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