Belgacem Haftar, son of eastern Libya's military chief Khalifa Haftar, touted in an interview with AFP what he called a push to make up for more than 40 "lost years" under slain ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
After Gaddafi was killed during the 2011 revolution, Libya descended into civil war, splitting the country in half as the Haftar clan took power in the east.
The field marshal exercises tight security control in the area he rules and, now Belgacem, one of his six sons, heads a reconstruction programme and appears to be seeking to restore the clan's legitimacy.
Following the floods that swept through Derna in 2023, killing nearly 4,000 people, Belgacem became the figurehead for reconstruction efforts in the area.
Bridges, apartment blocks, schools and hospitals now rise in eastern Libya, which had long been marginalised under Gaddafi.
