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Tripoli Centre Municipality begins development of BaladiyaBOT for digital municipal services
via Libya Herald1 min read
The Municipality of Tripoli Centre announced on April 19 the initiation of BaladiyaBOT's development, a digital assistant aimed at improving citizen access to municipal services. This initiative, part of Germany's GIZ's Support to Municipalities in Libya SML programme, seeks to enhance digital service delivery at the local level. BaladiyaBOT is designed to extend the physical Citizen Service Centre, offering digital channels to make services more accessible, inclusive, and responsive. The development will be piloted in Tripoli Centre, with testing and refinement in collaboration with municipal staff and citizens, before being rolled out to other municipalities across Libya. BaladiyaBOT aims to simplify access to services and information, improve transparency, and support efficient, citizen-oriented service delivery. The pilot is in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Government, with national scaling planned after full development. This initiative is supported by the SML III programme, funded by the European Union in Libya and the Bundesministerium f眉r wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung BMZ, and implemented by GIZ in partnership with the Libyan Ministry of Local Government and 30 municipalities.
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Saleh Al-Abbar, Director of the North Benghazi Power Plant, stated in a television interview that Libyan citizens consume more electricity than those in neighboring countries, attributing this to the low cost of electricity in Libya. He noted that the electricity system requires constant maintenance and upgrading. Al-Abbar explained that the power deficit is caused by excessive consumption and breakdowns during peak summer periods, amidst a summer of increasing power cuts and blackouts. The General Electricity Company of Libya has raised tariffs for commercial consumers and introduced prepaid meters to encourage rational use. However, state subsidies result in an average household electricity bill of approximately LD 100 拢10 per month, which does not incentivize reduced consumption or the adoption of solar energy.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency EASA extended its flight ban over Libya until January 2027, citing ongoing security risks, political instability, and fragmented military control. The ban, updated under CZIB-2017-02, advises air operators to exercise extreme caution or avoid Libyan airspace. Specifically, flights below FL320 are discouraged, except for coastal airport approaches with coordination and risk assessment. Operations above FL320 require extreme caution due to high-altitude air defense system risks. Despite this, international carriers, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, and Max Air, have been flying over Libyan airspace since January 2025, with some, like Air France, receiving specific corridor permissions. The US Federal Aviation Authority FAA lifted its flight ban over Libyan airspace in March 2019 for flights above 300 meters. A recent emergency landing of an Egypt Air flight at Kufra Airport in January 2025, due to a flight attendant's illness, was successfully handled by Libyan ground services, which are available 24/7. This incident was seen as positive for Libya's efforts to lift the EU ban and regain revenue from overflight fees. Furthermore, the Libyan-owned carrier MedSky currently operates flights to EU cities, raising questions about the rationale behind the continued EU flight ban.
The Man-Made River Authority MMR reported a power outage in the Sarir-Tazerbo-Benghazi system, the fourth in a week. The power cut, which occurred on Friday, July 24, at 5:00 am, was due to the disconnection of electrical circuits between Ajdabiya and Jalu. This incident caused all wells at the Sarir and Tazerbo fields to go out of service, leading to difficulties in managing water balance and supplying water to cities and projects. Power was restored to the Sarir well field at 9:00 am, with work crews immediately beginning to restart operations. Electricity returned to the Tazerbo well field at 11:00 am, where operations await voltage stabilization before restarting. The MMR stated that this situation is beyond its control.