Libya has postponed a tender for companies to manage the country’s telecoms operator, according to UAE telco Etisalat’s CEO.
The Libyan telecoms market is currently monopolised by the state-owned Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information…
Libya has postponed a tender for companies to manage the country’s telecoms operator, according to UAE telco Etisalat’s CEO.
The Libyan telecoms market is currently monopolised by the state-owned Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Company (LIPTIC), with subsidiaries including the two mobile operators Al Madar and Libyana.
Etisalat would like to win the contract to run LIPTIC but the government has halted the tender, according to CEO Ahmad Julfar cited by Reuters.
Julfar did not give more details of the contract in the report.
The move to outsource management of LIPTIC is generally seen as tentative steps toward privatisation, following the state monopoly which endured during Gaddafi’s rule.
While Libya’s political situation continues to be shaky, since the end of the dictatorship in 2011 private companies have clamoured to tap into opportunities in the country. Other operators in the Gulf such as Saudi Telecom Company and Ooredoo (formerly Qtel) are said to be interested in entering the market.
More than US$1bn of telecom infrastructure was destroyed during Libya’s civil war, which could explain the contract delay, according to Australian consultancy BuddeComm cited in the Reuters report.
