DILI, 31 august 2023 (TATOLI) – The Timorese Government has decided to transform the status of Atauro Island from a municipality into a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
The Minister of State Administration, Tomás do Rosário Cabral, said that the island would thus have a regional government like the Special Administrative Region Authority of Oé-Cusse Ambeno (RAEOA) under the control of the Central Government.
“We need to create a new statute for the island. So, the island will have a permanent Municipal Consultative Assembly to manage the island’s resources,” Cabral told reporters, in Dili, today.
Cabral said that due to the small number of inhabitants, the island won’t have enough voters to elect the Municipal Assembly: “To have a Municipal Assembly, the island has to have at least 33,000 voters.”
The island was transformed from an administrative post into a municipality by the VIII Constitutional Government, under the leadership of the former Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak.
The transformation of the status of the island has many benefits compared to its previous status as a municipality. As a Special Economic Zone, it will open doors for the development of various sectors, especially tourism.
Atauro is a small island situated 25 km north of Dili, Timor-Leste, on the extinct Wetar segment of the volcanic Inner Banda Arc, between the Indonesian islands of Alor and Wetar.
It is about 25 km long and 9 km wide, about 140.1 km2 in area, and had 10,295 inhabitants at the 2022 Census.
Boosting socioeconomic development as well as developing an ecotourism industry will lead Atauro to become a visible tourist destination in the future.
The region features thriving reefs with easy access right from the shore, exciting deep-water sites with plunging walls and endless visibility, and cool encounters with migrating marine mammals.
Journalist: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges
