Benghazi, the second-largest city in Libya, faces significant challenges in providing adequate water services to its population of approximately 850,000 residents. These challenges are exacerbated by rapid urban expansion, aging infrastructure, water scarcity, poor water and sanitation management performance and climate change. Against this backdrop, our clinet jointly with the African Development Bank (AfDB), are supporting the Municipality of Benghazi to develop a comprehensive water infrastructure master plan for Benghazi City. To ensure alignment with the Benghazi Metropolitan Area Master plan1 currently under finalization (as of October 2025), the water infrastructure masterplan will have 2050 as the final planning horizon year. The goal of this masterplan is to provide a strategic framework for addressing these challenges, ensuring sustainable water management, and enhancing the resilience of the city's water and sanitation infrastructure. The achievement of this goal is anchored in three project components namely:

Component A: Inclusive and resilient urban water masterplan for Benghazi

The development of the masterplan will include, amongst others, the following activities: infrastructure assessment, assessment of existing institutional frameworks, field data collection and analysis, identification of infrastructure needs, analysis of the water tariff system, development of long-term goals, identification of stakeholders and their roles, and identification of potential financing mechanisms. The Consultancy Firm selected to deliver this project will also refer to the recently developed sanitation masterplan2 launched in October 2024 between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund, ensuring coherence and between this and the water masterplan being developed. With respect to the water tariff system, in Libya, the price of water depends on its source of withdrawal. According to the AfDB, the charge for the use of water from the Man-made River Project (MMRP)3 is defined in Decree No.218/1994 and is dependent on its use. For domestic use, the General Company of Water and Wastewater (GCWW) pays a tariff to the MMRP. For desalinated water delivered by the General Desalination Company of Libya (GDCOL) for domestic use, there is a charge applied for this supply to the GCWW. Finally, the domestic water tariff paid by users for the water supply service delivered by the GCWW is volumetric and has a fixed tariff4. The water masterplan will cover all of Benghazi municipality, including peri-urban areas and new areas which are not connected to any water supply system (and informed by population growth projections and city expansion), and integrate climate change adaptation measures and best practices, such as circular economy concepts, when possible. It will be a strategic document, providing a vision for the sustainable development and operation of water supply facilities with 2050 as the final planning horizon year, and from the technical, institutional, financial and environmental perspectives. Accordingly, the technical and investment forecasts will be defined for the following horizons:

• Short term (intermediate) 2030
• Long term 2050

Each horizon and interval between them will be the subject of a priority analysis of the projects and works to be carried out for the achievement of the objectives fixed at the final horizon according to the criteria of urbanization, existing infrastructure, and environmental and socio-economic impacts.

Component B: Preparation of Water and Sanitation Investment Plan Projects

An investment plan will be developed by the Consultancy Firm appointed to develop the Benghazi water masterplan and cleared by the competent authorities. The investment plan will include a project prioritization table, following a multi-criteria analysis, established in collaboration with the main stakeholders. The Consultancy Firm will then prepare the preliminary design, full design, and tender documents (including Bills of Quantities) for the top three (3) prioritized investment projects and initial budget estimates. The full / detailed design will be developed for the top three prioritized investment projects, for which at least EUR 100 million (in words: one hundred million) will be expected to be mobilized for infrastructure development.

Component C: Governance and capacity building of relevant national stakeholders and Project management

This component will strengthen the project's ownership and relevance by involving the relevant national stakeholders of the sector. Specifically, the Consultancy Firm develop a Capacity Building Plan (aligned to the time horizons as articulated under Component A) to train local authorities, particularly the Municipality of Benghazi, 

Desired Candidate Profile

• Proven experience in liaising with governmental authorities, international organizations, UN and other stakeholders required.
• Experience working on public sector/utility infrastructure development projects is considered a distinct advantage.
• Diplomacy and strong interactive skills necessary for dealing with senior officials in Government, and donor/development organizations as well as partners / stakeholders.
• Excellent oral and written communication, and analytical skills are necessary.
• Demonstrated experience in forging relationships between partners / stakeholders and maintaining effective relationships.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, along with problem-solving and conflict resolution abilities, are essential for effectively building and maintaining relationships.
• Strong computer skills and familiarity with Microsoft Office applications
• Strong coordination skills.
• Ability to manage deadlines, document decisions and ensure timely delivery of outputs.