DILI, 06 october 2021 (TATOLI) – The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) and the National Commerce Bank of Timor-Leste (BNCTL) have signed a financing agreement totaling around US$ 20.887.798 for the construction and rehabilitation of 204 schools across the country.
The agreement aimed to facilitate the transfer of the US$ 20.887.796 to the bank account of the community construction groups, who will be responsible for the construction and rehabilitation of the 657 classrooms of the 204 schools, as an effort to reduce the bureaucracy.
The agreements were signed on october 6 by the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Armindo Maia, and the BNCTL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brigido De Sousa.
Minister Maia described: “It is State’s money allocated for education infrastructure through MoEYS, via Public Transfers for upgrading schools in Timor-Leste.”
“We hope that next month the construction groups will start the work and by March or April 2022, all projects can be concluded,” Maia told reporters during the signing of the agreement at the MoEYS office, in Dili, wednesday.
He said the money wasn’t enough to upgrade all schools in the country, adding MoEYS will propose a budget in its 2022 and 2023 General State Budget (GSB) for school construction and rehabilitation.
BNCTL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brigido De Sousa thanked MEJD for choosing BNCTL out of the three other banks: “It’s a state-owned bank and we are will to facilitate these 204 projects as well as other programs of the government.”
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
