Libya's eastern-based interim government hopes that Russia will resume work on the Misrata-Bengazi railway project, Investment Minister Ali al-Saidi told Sputnik.
"Soon, during the [Russia-Islamic World] forum in Kazan, I will speak again about this project, and it will benefit both sides, because we are in dire need of railway lines," al-Saidi said.
He stressed that the government in eastern Libya "hopes that the Russian authorities will return to this project."
In 2008, Russian Railways embarked on an ambitious project to build a 554-kilometer railway linking the Libyan cities of Sirte and Benghazi. The project, valued at $2.4 billion, was contracted with the Libyan authorities.
However, the outbreak of civil war in the North African country in 2011 brought the project to an abrupt halt. Russian Railways was forced to halt construction and evacuate its employees.
Libya has two governments that do not recognize each other. The first, recognized by the UN and led by Abdelhamid Dbeiba, operates in Tripoli in the northwest. The second, authorized by the country's House of Representatives, is based in Benghazi and is temporarily led by Osama Hammad after the ouster of Fathi Bashagi.
After the overthrow and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya ceased to function as a unified state. For the past several years, there has been a standoff between the authorities in Tripoli and those in Benghazi. In 2021, the UN-sponsored Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva elected a transitional executive until general elections, which have yet to be held.