SNC wins airport contract in Libya

Montreal's SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. said Monday it has secured a $500-million contract to expand Libya's second largest airport.

SNC will build a new terminal, tarmac apron and airplane runway at Libya's Benina International Airport, which serves Benghazi in Libya's northeastern region.

The project is expected to be completed by 2010 and will able to accommodate approximately five million passengers annually, the company said in a news release.

"We have been working in Libya for over 20 years, mainly on water-related infrastructure projects, so we are delighted with this new opportunity to participate in Libya's economic development by using another of our recognized areas of technical expertise," said Riadh Ben Aissa, executive vice-president at SNC.

Libya is undertaking the airport improvement as part of an extensive infrastructure program designed to boost its economy, SNC said.

One goal is to build 450,000 new homes by the middle of the next decade along with a further $6-billion US worth of water and sanitation projects, according to the government.

For its part, SNC, one of the biggest engineering companies in the world, has been in Libya for two decades. 

The firm is building a large water pipeline, which upon completion will be able to carry 1.6 million cubic metres of water across the Libyan desert.