DILI, 23 february 2023 (TATOLI) – The President of the Court of Appeal, Deolindo dos Santos revealed that the Chinese construction company, China Shandong International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group (CSI) will complete, in may, the construction of the new building of the Dili District Court (DDC).
“The construction of the building is underway. We expect it to be completed by may this year,” Santos told reporters at his office, in Dili.
He said that he has spoken with the owner of the company to speed up the construction work according to the plan.
Santos did not agree with the company’s proposal submitted to the National Development Agency (NDA) to extend the construction deadline.
“I do not accept this proposal. Otherwise, Timor-Leste will lose a lot of money for nothing. That is why I have always told the boss of the company not to extend the deadline,” he said.
In order to prevent any irregularities, the Court of Appeal has set up a verification and inspection team to strictly control the construction work.
“We have always coordinated with the NDA, and the Board of Directors of the Infrastructure Fund to verify the report of the verification and inspection team before making any payment to the company,” he explained.
The government of Timor-Leste allocated more than US$10 million for the construction of the new building of the Dili District Court.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
