DILI, september 21, 2022 (TATOLI) – The construction of the new Tibar Bay port has reached 92%, on average completion, Fidelis Magalhães, the President of the Council of Ministers has said.
According to the plan the new port is scheduled to be officially inaugurated on november 28 of this year coinciding with the commemoration of Timor-Leste Independence day, while the regular activity will be started on september 30.
“Tibar Port will start the operations on the 30th of September. From october one, there will be no shipping container at the Dili port, all the activities will be centered in Tibar Port, except for the passenger ship and cruise ship,” said Magalhães.
The Director of the company Timor Port SA, Laurent Palayer, had said that the construction of the Tíbar Port is a milestone for the country’s development, particularly for the loading and unloading activities that will make the interconnection of container shipping from Australia, West Timor, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.
“We are facing a first-generation port that is installed with modern equipment that can guarantee faster and more efficient movement, “said Laurent Palayer.
The Port project was officially funded by the Government of Timor-Leste with a budget worth US$64.7 million taken from the financial viability account between august 2019 and May 2020.
Following the statement issued by the Minister of Finance, the shipping container in Dili port will be moving to Tibar Port, while the optimal handling capacity of Tibar port, is estimated to handle about 15 to 16 containers in a day and it can store about one million containers every year.
The port has a length of 630 meters and a width of 15 meters, 27 hectares of space for containers, and two berths that allow safe and secure mooring that can then facilitate the unloading or loading of cargo or people from vessels.
The new port aims to support Timor-Leste in the diversification of domestic production, facilitating maritime connectivity with the Asian region, also connecting the country to the global market, and improving access to trade and other industries.
The construction of the Tbar Bay Port was carried out by Timor-Port S.A, Bolloré, and the Government of Timor-Leste.
Of the US$280 for the initial phase of the construction project, around US$130 million was made available by the government of Timor-Leste, and US$150 million was allocated by both Timor-Port S.A, and Bolloré.
The China Harbor company was contracted by Timor Port to build the port. Tibar port is considered a project of public interest, led by an inter-ministerial commission comprising the ministers of Finance, Public Works, Planning and Planning, and Transport and Communications.
Journalist: Camilo de Sousa
Editor: Nelia B.
