Metropolis’s Libyan owner Husni Bey toasts Gaddafi’s fall

Testaferrata Street's red light was set to be switched off when the looming prospect of Malta's first ever 35-storey tower got its green light from the planning authority.

But since bank financing collapsed during the credit crunch of 2008, the gaping hole that was supposed to be the Metropolis megaproject in Gzira, seemed to have become just a reminder of the dampened performance of the construction sector.

And yet, the ambitious project might still see the light of day as Libyan rebel forces close in on Col. Muammar Gaddafi - nobody may be more happier than one of his foremost critics, the prolific entrepreneur Husni Bey, who in September 2010 acquired 80% of the Metropolis project.

Bey's response to a quick email instantly registers his satisfaction at the positive turn of events in Libya. "There is no adjective in the world that could fully and comprehensively describe, in its fullest meaning, the Gaddafi family era and their gang. Humanity will have to invent a word to fully describe it... I'd love to be the first to hear it."

This outburst is not just matter-of-fact comment. Bey was imprisoned by Gaddafi three times - 15 months in total over 16 years - in a crackdown on businessmen who "illegally engaged in monopolistic business practices". Only after Gaddafi's pariah status was lifted by Tony Blair, did the Libyan government start to show him off as a shining example of the opportunities the oil-rich North African dictatorship.

Because beneath this surface, Bey was a public critic of the 'socialist-style' economy crafted by Gaddafi and was always viewed with hatred and suspicion by the regime.

"Everyone in Libya had a private war with the regime, even its closest allies. That's why Tripoli is melting like butter in the sun," he told MaltaToday of the fragile foundations of Gaddafi's rule.

"Those close to the regime's centre instigated the ones on the periphery to fight for them, to fight a war they didn't believe in themselves. They could not resist any longer as the revolutionaries rose from within the capital. Tripoli's fall lasted 28 hours. The revolutionaries came in within less than two hours at an average speed of 20km per hour."

Clampdown on Bey

Bey's family business predates Gaddafi's 1969 revolution, his father having started shipping and oil-services businesses. These were forcefully nationalised after being run down by government-instigated strikes.

His largest venture is importing Procter & Gamble products. The owner of the franchise for Marks & Spencers, he was recently the target of a smear campaign by the regime. According to a 2008 diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks, US ambassador Gene Cretz relayed details of a campaign by the Libyan government to close the Marks & Spencer retail store in Tripoli, largely due to a personal grievance between Bey and Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmudi.

The store was closed twice by Libyan authorities, accusing it to be a "Zionist entity", with Mahmoudi directing that the franchise be sold to government officials, and M&S employees being put under close scrutiny by security officials.

"[Bey's] acrimonious relationship with Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi is well-known," ambassador Cretz reported. "Another member of Libya's business elite described Bey as 'dangerously candid', noting that he does not mask his general disdain for the GOL and its officials."

The US embassy even got wind of a plan by the Libyan state security to build a case against Bey and "dismantle his business empire piecemeal" by diminishing his influence, short of assassinating him by visiting some fatal car accident upon him.

Gaddafi exercised a great deal of influence over foreign interests through the 'riqaba' committee, an audit office for public contracts that ensured political patronage was properly distributed. Regime loyalists got plum contracts, while foreign companies paid the kickbacks, or lost the contracts for diplomatic sleights towards Gaddafi and his family.

With his tacit blessing, Mahmoudi mounted a campaign through the riqaba committee against the Tripoli branch Marks and Spencer "as a means to harass long-time rival Husni Bey, a partner in the Tripoli branch," Cretz noted.

One of the most revealing interviews with Husni Bey was given to the Dallas Morning News. In its, Saif el Islam, Gaddafi's son and heir apparent, was quoted saying that Bey controlled more than 120 companies. "It's too much. He is smart and he is active, but still the government should intervene."

Bey replied that his wealth was being exaggerated, and that the Husni Bey Group had 12 companies, but employed a considerable 700 employees. "The only fear is getting involved in politics or challenging the regime," Bey said. "If you say, 'Gaddafi should be gotten rid of,' if you say it even half publicly, you disappear."

And he publicly complained that corruption, lack of a free press and bureaucracy were Libya's major stumbling block. "Libya has many opportunities for everybody to live in prosperity. But in a corrupt society, which Libya is, there will never be equal opportunities."

Metropolis project gearing up

Bey's new venture in Malta, the Metropolis project, is now picking up speed. Aidan Barker, a director of the project, told MaltaToday that since Bey's involvement the company was now restructuring finance.

"We have spent a lot of time stabilizing the business and tidying up the house, continuing with our debt financing and even started discussing with contractors," Barker said.

The project's MEPA permit is valid up until 2014 and with some 32 months of work scheduled, Barker is mindful that time is closing in.

"We're confident that with the right contractors we'll be able to start very soon. The events in Libya only hampered the project in the way the Husni Bey Group was perceived in terms of risk. We said we wouldn't push it so far until we knew how the conflict would resolve itself.

"Now we can expect activity to increase. Before we came in a lot of marketing had been done with no tangible delivery. We are working at a low profile now, but that's because we are concentrating on the market and delivery."

The only other investor in the project is now Chris Pace, the former GlobalCapital chairman who was the driving force behind the project.

Original plans for the central Gzira development includes three high-rise buildings of 13, 27 and 33 floors, which will feature the tallest building currently planned in the country. The project includes luxury residential, commercial, health, fitness and leisure facilities, and 500 underlying car spaces. Developers intend Metropolis as the catalyst to the area's regeneration.