Turkish company opens case against Libya at International Court of Arbitration

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Tekfen Holding has stated that its construction unit, Tekfen İnşaat, has opened a case at the International Court of Arbitration of The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) against the Libyan Man-Made River Authority (MMRA) and the state of Libya, over its losses in the country since 2011. 

“We have decided our unit Tekfen İnşaat will apply for international arbitration to recover all of its rights, receivables and assets in Libya’s Great Manmade River Project [GMR], which it undertook as a joint venture, Tekfen-TML, but suspended on Feb. 21, 2011 due to the conflicts in the country,” the company said in a written statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) on June 18.

“In line with the decision, a commercial arbitration case has been filed at the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC against the authorized employer of the project, Libyan Man-Made River Authority, and the Libyan state,” it added.

Tekfen Holding had stated on Jan. 30 that it would be unlikely for Tekfen İnşaat to collect any receivables for the GMR project in Libya due to political developments in the country, but its net losses there amounted to $82.93 million. 

Tekfen-TML J.V., a joint operation that is 67 percent owned by the Tekfen Holding, had to suspend its operations and evacuate its sites in Libya from 2011 due to the violence in the country. 

The company was responsible for the construction of the al-Khufra-Tazerbo Water Conveyance System, a 400-kilometer section of the GMR. Construction of the water system started in 2006, and was 70 percent complete by the time political unrest began in February 2011, according to the company.