Tripoli Government Reviews Progress of Stalled Zumurrud Mall Project
The Tripoli government reported yesterday that Mustafa Al-Mana, Head of the Executive Team for the Prime Minister’s Initiatives and Strategic Projects, held a meeting to review the progress of the Zumurrud (Emerald) Mall Investment Project on Tripoli’s Airport Road.
The government said the meeting came in accordance with the Prime Minister’s directives regarding the monitoring and support of targeted investment and development projects to ensure their completion according to approved specifications.
The meeting was attended by the team member assigned to oversee the project, representatives of the Zumurrud Company (representing the project owners), the project consultant Hill International, and the consortium of companies executing the project, Reg Libya, which includes the Libyan Development and Investment Holding Company (LIDCO), the Turkish company Renaissance, and the Turkish company Jawahir.
The meeting reviewed the report of the committee assigned by the Executive Team to monitor the project, as well as the international consultant’s report on adherence to the project timeline, the flow of external supplies, and the final and complete designs for the remaining work.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister’s directives were conveyed, emphasizing the need to maintain a steady pace of work and address any challenges that might hinder implementation, to ensure the project’s completion according to the approved plans, designs, and deadlines.
The importance of developing a comprehensive operational plan for the project was also emphasized, along with the need to train and qualify national personnel in collaboration with foreign partners. This will ensure the project’s readiness and operation according to the approved objectives, the government reported.
Model for investment partnerships funded outside the general budget
The government said the project is a model for investment partnerships funded outside the general budget and represents the first large-scale, mixed-use commercial centre in Libya.
It will be built on a total area of 15 hectares and will include an integrated shopping mall, administrative offices, a luxury five-star hotel, spaces for international investors and developers, and several other facilities and services.
The project aims to contribute to stimulating the national economy, providing job opportunities for young people, supporting investment activity, developing the urban landscape of Tripoli, and enhancing Libya’s attractiveness for investments and major projects.
However, as usual, the Tripoli government gave no real details about the implementation timeline or the costs of the project.
The March 2021 restart
It will be recalled that in March 2021, and after a ten-year halt, the then newly installed Abdel Hamid Aldabaiba announced that work had started on LIDCO’s Zumurrud (Emerald) Shopping Mall Complex. However, save some visible superficial clearing work implemented by bulldozers at the time, Libya Herald could detect no real meaningful progress at the time on the project.
The March 2025 project relaunch
In March 2025, however, Aldabaiba relaunched the project.
To be completed by August 2026
Aldabaiba stressed that the mall complex will be completed according to the set 17-month schedule (August 2026), emphasising the importance of completing it with high standards that enhance the commercial and administrative infrastructure in the country.
Sales centre for the project opened
The March 2025 relaunch was accompanied by the opening of a sales centre for the project, in order to provide services and facilities for those wishing to invest and benefit from the mall’s facilities.
Vow to be completed on time!
Aldabaiba stressed that the government will follow up on the implementation of the project to ensure that it is completed on time according to the highest standards, praising the role of major investments in developing the country’s economic structure.
The Tripoli government also reported at the time that Zumurrud Mall had won two international awards at the Cannes Festival in France as the best architectural and environmental design for a commercial complex.
However, as yesterday’s follow-up report clearly shows, the Mall is nowhere near being complete. The Tripoli government has not offered any explanation for this.
The LIA cash injection into LIDCO
It will also be recalled that in September 2021, the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) signed an investment deal (The Peace Building Project deal) with LIDCO, whereby the LIA injects capital in LIDCO to enable it to part complete some of the Tripoli Gate projects, which include the Zumurrud project.
Origin of the project
The project was started in 2010 but, like all major Libyan projects, was brought to a halt by Libya’s February 2011 Revolution. The infrastructure of the first part of the mall had been completed.
The shopping mall is part of the Bab Tripoli (Tripoli Gate II) project which, besides the shopping mall, consists of office space, a hotel and hotel apartments and was touted at the time as one of the largest malls in Africa.
The concept architect is American 5+ Design and the responsible architecture office is Yazgan Architecture from Turkey. The total building area in the project, which has 110.000 m² office space, is 275.000 m².
In addition to 45,000 m² of retail rentable space and 110,670 m² of office rentable space, the project area includes hypermarket, cinema, bowling alley, marinas, restaurants, ice skating area and gym.
In 2010 the total investment amount of the project, which has an investment value of US$ 150 million and the investment value of the 5-star hotel project of $100 million, was expected to amount to about US$ 1 billion.
The shopping mall project had been envisioned to be completed in March 2011, the business centre in June 2011 and the hotel by the end of 2011.
The Aldabaiba connection
Coincidently, or not, Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Aldabaiba, used to be Chairman and General Manager of LIDCO under the Qaddafi regime.
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