Two Beijing construction firms that were forced to abandon contracted projects in Libya have received early insurance payouts to cover their losses in resettling evacuated workers.

In an unprecedented move on Monday, Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) and Beijing Hongfu Group were given a combined 132 million yuan by China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, known as Sinosure.

Both companies were hired by Libya in 2009 to build a total of 15,000 homes in the country. However, workers were pulled off sites when violence broke out between government forces and rebel groups. It was not revealed where the sites are.