UAE-based Al Ghurair Group is planning to invest $1.5 billion in a refinery over the next four years, a senior official of the group was quoted as saying. 

The group already has a 50 per cent stake in the largest refinery in Libya and it plans to expand the plant, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair was quoted as saying by a Gulf News report.

He was part of a delegation of UAE businessmen who visited Libya recently.

The initial investment was made three years ago in the Ras Lanuf refinery, and is a partnership with the Libyan National Oil Company. Despite the regime change, the investment has continued, the report said.

Al Ghurair Group is also looking at contracting, banking and insurance in Libya. "There is a lot to do, and therefore a lot of opportunities," Al Ghurair said.

He said it was necessary for UAE firms to move quickly to set up businesses in the country to benefit from the opportunity existing there.

"For any investor coming from the UAE, speed is critical. He has to choose where to invest because the whole world is going to be coming here," he said.