Gaddafiland? It’s a small, dictatorial and megalomaniacal world after all

Hoping to erase all relics from 40 years of dictatorship, Libyan tourism officials said on Tuesday they plan to transform Muammar Gaddafi’s demolished compound into an amusement park.

Bab al-Aziziya is now mostly rubble where it once held a sprawling compound for the now-slain Gaddafi and his inner circle.

“The work to clear away the rubble from the ruins of Bab al-Aziziya, which was a black spot in Tripoli and a source of concern for residents, has begun,” Tourism Minister Ikram Basha Imam said, according to The Daily Star in Beirut.

“This space will be transformed into a green area and an amusement park as a place of entertainment for Libyan families.”

NATO airstrikes and rebel forces stormed the compound in August, 2011; homeless families now occupy what’s left, AFP reported.

There had been plans to erect a library, theater and monument on the site, The Daily Star said, but that plan was halted.

Efforts are underway to house those who rely on the meager shelter it provides.

Construction is expected to begin in two months, Reuters reported, with eight companies contracted to secure and rebuild the site.

Bab al-Aziziya, or “Splendid Gate,” was a 2.5-square-mile fortress with everything from sports fields to an underground bunker.

It also contained government offices, villas, Gaddafi’s preferred Bedouin tents and swimming pools.

Exactly what it will look like after construction remains questionable since Tripoli remains in constant flux due to an unstable government and continued skirmishes.

“Bab al-Aziziya will remain a park until there are definite plans for the city,” Imam said.

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