Feature, Freight News, Logistics, Sea


PPP deal to transform Libyan port’s prospects

[ January 20, 2026   //   ]

Misurata Free Zone (MFZ) in western Libya has signed a public–private partnership to modernize, manage, develop and expand the country’s main container gateway and most commercially active maritime hub. It is the first major PPP infrastructure project outside the energy sector.

MFZ will collaborate with Maha Capital Partners, an international infrastructure investor headquartered in Doha, and Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), MSC’s ports arm to transform Misurata Port into a high-capacity facility and, eventually, a deep-sea port. Misurata lies about 200km east of Tripoli.

Established in 2000 as Libya’s first and largest free zone, MFZ oversees a 2,576-hectare economic area, with plans to reach 20,000 hectares, and manages the port that handles around 60–65% of all of Libya’s container trade.

The partnership includes expansion of container capacity to accommodate larger vessels and support complex logistics chains, new terminal equipment and digital systems and enhanced safety, performance, and environmental standards.

The partnership also establishes the foundation for Misurata’s evolution into a deep-sea port, a central ambition for Libya’s competitiveness in the Mediterranean. This future development forms part of a broader investment programme to be deployed in phases.

These upgrades reinforce Misurata’s historic role as one of Libya’s most dynamic commercial centres and a symbol of resilience since 2011.

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