10.7b yuan worth of projects at risk in Libya, 2 Chinese companies say

State-owned China Gezhouba Group Corporation and Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC) say projects worth 10.7 billion yuan (HK$12.7 billion) in Libya are at risk from the civil war afflicting the North African state.

MCC, listed in Hong Kong and Shanghai, is constructing 5,000 units at a residential property project and a cement plant in Libya. The outstanding value of these two projects, based on uncompleted work, is 5.13 billion yuan, or 2 per cent of MCC's total outstanding contract value as of the end of last year, said the company in an announcement.

All projects have been suspended 'as the situation in Libya remains in turmoil', MCC said, adding that all the company's employees had been evacuated from the country. 'Some expenses will be incurred due to the evacuation. Given the uncertain situation in Libya, the subsequent development of the above projects remains unclear.'

Gezhouba, an infrastructure construction conglomerate that specialises in dams, is building 7,300 residential units worth 5.54 billion yuan. The Shanghai-listed company said 17 per cent of that project had been completed.

'All our 1,060 Chinese workers in Libya were evacuated by February 28 and the project is suspended,' Gechouba said, warning that the evacuation would incur costs, and that it was impossible to say when the project would resume.

Gezhouba said it had established a team to protect its assets in Libya.