The Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) has received government approval to cancel two contracts signed with a Chinese construction firm in 2010.

The housing and utilities ministry has given permission to begin contracting for over 80 projects in various parts of the country.

The Ministry of Housing organised a meeting with other state bodies aimed at resuming construction projects in the country.

Helsinki-based Cargotec has agreed the sale of a cement unloader to a Turkish construction company active in Libya.

Libya's foreign ministry says EU sanctions against the Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) have been removed, a decision first announced late last year.

Officials from the Sirte Local Council met with representatives from the Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) to discuss the resumption of housing works in the town.

Ali Zeidan said that construction work kept on-hold due to the absence of foreign companies may be taken up by Libyan firms instead.

The Egyptian National Company for Construction and Development (NCCD) said it has halted operations in Libya after the kidnapping of Egyptian diplomats earlier this month.

A group of private investors, including the Husni Bey Group, plans to launch a new sharia-compliant real estate investment fund in March.

The government has given permission for the housing ministry to contract for 4,800 homes in central and eastern parts of the country.

The contractor says it has returned to finish work on two roads that were under construction before 2011, and hopes to win more contracts in Libya.

The Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) has given preliminary approval for nine road and water infrastructure contracts in the town, which lies in eastern Libya.

The Ministry of Housing and Utilities has reportedly given the go-ahead for its Jufra branch to begin contracting for road and water works in the district, which lies in central Libya.

Ali al-Sharif says his ministry is seeking to change the way it contracts for works to allow for more private investment, both from inside the country and abroad.

The agency is to open new offices through the country, starting with a new LD2m ($1.6m) site in Surman in the north west.