Belgacem Haftar, son of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar, touted in an interview with AFP what he described as an effort to make up for more than 40 "lost years" under the regime of assassinated leader Muammar Gaddafi.
After Gaddafi's death during the 2011 revolution, Libya descended into civil war, with the country splitting in two as the Haftar clan took power in the east.
The marshal exercises strict security control in the area he governs and, today, Belgacem, one of his six sons, is leading a reconstruction program and appears to be seeking to restore the clan's legitimacy.
Following the floods that ravaged Derna in 2023, killing nearly 4,000 people, Belgacem became the figurehead of reconstruction efforts in the region.
Bridges, apartment buildings, schools and hospitals are now rising in eastern Libya, long marginalized under Gaddafi.
AFP journalists, escorted by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Haftar, were able to observe dozens of construction sites in Benghazi, Derna and Bayda.
"Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years, and he did not accomplish what we have achieved in two years," Belgacem, 46, told AFP, sitting in an office in a lavish palace in Benghazi.
This oil-rich country remains divided between a UN-recognized government based in the capital, Tripoli, and the eastern administration in Benghazi, backed by Haftar.
The reconstruction fund was established in 2024 to rebuild Derna with a budget of approximately $2 billion at the time, before becoming the Libyan Fund for Development and Reconstruction.
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Eastern Libya and most of the south of the country are firmly controlled by Haftar and his sons.
Saddam Haftar, widely regarded as his presumptive heir, holds the position of second-in-command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), while another of his sons, Khaled, is chief of staff.
Libya holds Africa's largest oil reserves, estimated at around 48.4 billion barrels, and areas controlled by the family are home to most of the oil fields and export terminals.
The reconstruction fund has launched a wave of projects in areas under the control of the Eastern administration, with the aim of "making up for the lost years" under Gaddafi's regime, Mr. Belgacem said.
He added that since the fall of Gaddafi, sectors such as education and health, as well as basic needs, had been "completely neglected".
This Haftar development offensive comes as they seek to demonstrate their ability to govern even beyond their areas of control, while the United States is reportedly trying to foster a rapprochement between the country's rival authorities.
Responding to accusations that Haftar was using the fund without oversight and committing financial malfeasance, Mr. Belgacem said: "The number and scale of ongoing projects answer the question of where the money is being spent."
"The scale of the projects and the transparency are reflected in what we have accomplished on the ground," he added.
He specified that each contract signed by the fund is currently "audited by the competent authorities," while all payments are processed by the central bank in Tripoli.
"An immense need"
Libya has long faced repression and poverty, both during and after the Gaddafi regime.
Mr. Belgacem stated that the fund had "restored trust between citizens and the state by implementing projects that had been abandoned for years."
On Friday, Mr. Belgacem attended a rehearsal for a celebration of the education sector at the newly built stadium in Benghazi.
After posing for selfies with parents and children, a young girl approached him, carrying her family's requests on a small piece of paper.
Beyond the areas already under Haftar control, the reconstruction fund could extend to western Libya, "if the authorities request it," said Mr. Belgacem.
He added that the region housing the capital, Tripoli, and a large part of the Libyan population had a "huge need" for infrastructure.
But tensions between Mr. Belgacem and Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, who heads the Tripoli-based government, are expected to ease.
During the interview, Mr. Belgacem accused Mr. Dbeibah of having "not carried out any projects on a Libyan state scale in the last five years."
And Mr. Dbeibah accused the Eastern administration of spending off-budget over the past three years.
However, signs of potential change have emerged.
Last month, the legislative bodies of the rival authorities signed a US-brokered agreement to unify government spending in the divided country for the first time in more than a decade.
This agreement provides for investments worth approximately 20 billion dinars ($3 billion) in western Libya, Mr. Belgacem told AFP.
A similar amount has also been allocated to the east and south, where the fund seeks to develop other "strategic projects," he added.
