São Paulo – Four large Brazilian companies are awaiting the development of the conflict in Libya to decide how to proceed with their business in the country. Despite the uncertainty, they hope to return to activities. Flávio Machado Filho, the executive Institutional Relations director at construction company Andrade Gutierrez, for example, told ANBA that the company aims to return to work in Tripoli.
He recalled that the Brazilian Foreign minister, Antonio Patriota, informed this week that the Libyan National Transition Council (NTC) guaranteed that contracts signed with Brazilian companies during the Muamar Kadafi regime will be honoured. The contact with the rebels was through the ambassador of Brazil to Egypt, Cesário Melantônio Neto.
“We have great faith in this,” said Machado. “If minister Patriota says that the [Libyan] transition government is engaged in maintaining relations and agreements, that is good for us. We believe in the strength of being sensible and that the government of Brazil will defend national interests [abroad], as it has done in recent years,” he added.
According to him, the Libyan market “is still very interesting” to the company, but “return to institutional normality” is essential for a return to business. “North Africa is a very important region as a whole,” he pointed out.
Andrade Gutierrez is developing four urbanisation works in Tripoli, in channelling and paving, among others, for the value of US$ 600 million. The works have been stopped since the start of the civil conflict in the country and foreign workers, including Brazilians, were evacuated. Only the Libyan employees remained. Machado pointed out that he has also received information showing that the company’s equipment in Libya has not been damaged.
In the same lines, Odebrecht group hopes to return to operation. The company was responsible for construction of the new Tripoli International Airport and for a new ring road round the Libyan capital. “The company’s expectations are to return to operation, but is still analysing the scenery to make a decision,” it informed, in a press statement.
Odebrecht has had as many as 4,000 employees in the country, but the majority were removed in February due to the start of conflicts. The local workers remained, according to the company, and were responsible for the company’s assets in Libya.
Both projects were financed by the Kadafi regime. In 2009, the airport project was evaluated at 969 million euros and the ring road at 250 million euros, as informed by ANBA at the time. The company has not disclosed updated contract values. Thirty per cent of the works of both works had been executed up to interruption, according to the organisation.
Another construction company, Queiroz Galvão, also has business in the country. In 2008, the company had four contracts for urban infrastructure works for the value of US$ 500 million. Through a company spokesperson, the organisation informed that “it is maintaining all its projects in Libya and that it is awaiting developments to define future operations”.
In the same way, Petrobras, which sought oil on the Libyan Mediterranean coast, also informed through its press department that projects have been suspended, Brazilian employees were removed in February and that “it is still too early” for the company to “discuss its future in Libya”. The Brazilian state-owned oil company added that it is “closely following” the situation.
*Translated by Mark Ament
