Yes. Kaddafi went to that Arab Muslim conference, hoping to take over as leader of the movement. Instead, he was reviled and made fun of because of his strange garb and his girl security guard.
So, he decided to become the leader of a pan-African movement, Arabs and blacks working together, instead of Arabs trying to conquer and enslave blacks. He hired many black Africans to work in the oil fields, and he had many projects like the one you reference, to improve the lives of those in the region. Most Arabs really hated that.