Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's sprawling residence in
Tripoli, Bab al-Aziziya, will be turned into an amusement park under
plans announced on Tuesday by the tourism minister.
"The work to clear away the rubble from the ruins
of Bab al-Aziziya, which was a black spot in Tripoli and a source of
concern for residents, has begun," the minister Ikram Basha Imam said.
"This space will be transformed into a green area
and an amusement park as a place of entertainment for Libyan families,"
she said.
Bab al-Aziziya covers several square hectares (acres) of prime real estate in central Tripoli.
It was heavily fortified during Gaddafi's 42 years
of iron-fisted rule, but was destroyed by NATO air raids and a rebel
assault that reached the Libyan capital on August 20, 2011.
The site was plundered and occupied by squatters.
In August 2012, Prime Minister Abdelrahim al-Kib
announced plans to construct a library, theatre and a monument to
martyrs of the conflict on the site.
But that project was subsequently abandoned in favour of a public park.
The tourism minister said eight private companies had been contracted to build the new park.
She added that the department of social services
was identifying and rehousing homeless families who have been occupying
the premises since the conflict.
In October 2011 Gaddafi was captured and killed
while trying to flee Sirte, his hometown and the last major city to fall
to NATO-backed rebels who rose up against his regime nine months
earlier.