Libya govt proposes $55 bn 2012 budget

TRIPOLI (AFP) - Libya's interim government has proposed a 2012 budget of $55 billion as the country undertakes reconstruction efforts and gears up for its first elections since Moamer Kadhafi was toppled last year.

"The estimated total budget for this year is 68.5 billion Libyan dinars ($55 billion/40.9 billion euros)," the prime minister's office said after it was agreed in a ministerial meeting on Wednesday.

"The council adopted (the budget) and transferred it to the National Transitional Council for approval," the statement said.

The North African nation's gross domestic product fell by about 60 percent last year, but International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections say it could rebound with a near 70 percent expansion this year and 20 percent in 2013.

Libyans are to elect a constituent assembly in June.