The Housing and Infrastructure Ministry is the client for the Eur434m ($640m) project, which is Strabag's largest order in Libya to date.

Under the contract, Strabag will lay pipes for the city’s water supply and sewage system as well as telephone and electricity lines. It also includes the construction of roads and lighting.

Overall, the project involves 200 kilometres of infrastructure. The construction period is four years.

The project will strengthen the company’s presence in Africa. It is also active in Qatar. Oman and Abu Dhabi.

“Until recently, our order backlog in Africa amounted to Eur205 million ($302m),” says Hans Peter Haselsteiner, chief executive officer of Strabag. “With this new order and the many promising major projects we are pursuing, we are confident we will pass the Eur1bn ($1.5bn) mark soon.”