SHORT NOTE: The long term need for the Libyan commercial ports planning. Misurata, Alkhums and Tripoli ports as case study

The planning of a new port, expansion or improvement of an existing one, requires many factors to be taken into consideration. For commercial ports, as well as oceanography considerations, the main factors are the nature of cargoes to be handled, size and type of ships to be served, and the land area for storage and smooth integration with land transport system. The volume of foreign and local trade of the country, the rate of growing of population and spatial development are the main points to be noted in any planning process. For a country as Libya and due to its strategic location in Africa and Mediterranean, transport planning should consider local requirements and serving the landlocked countries, namely Chad and Niger. The discovery of oil and other resources recently in both countries is an encouraging element. Nearly third of global trade and forty per cent of Africa trade with EU countries pass through the Mediterranean (UNCTAD, 2009). Development of transport corridors from Libya's coast, to Chad, Niger and Sudan, initially by road and potentially by rail could provide better economic results than using the present routes through Nigeria or Cameron. The share of transportation cost in the export and import trade in these countries is about fifty per cent.