Dili, February 8^th, 2021– His Excellency the Prime-Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, together with the relevant Ministers linked to the Tibar port project, paid a visit to the site, this Monday, to directly observe the project progress. On the same occasion, the Prime Minister and his entourage received some explanations from the head of the project about the progress.

This visit by the Prime Minister and members of Government began with the presentation by the head of the PMU and Timor Port on the project progress, which, by January 2021, had already reached 45%, and also on the preparations, by the Government and Timor Port, to complete all that will be necessary for the operation of the port, before its entry into operation, scheduled for May 2022.

After receiving these explanations, the Head of Government and his team continued to observe om the ground, to take a closer look at the physical development of the project.

The Head of Government told journalists, after the visit to the ground, that the objective is to observe the development level of this work, to see what preparations the Government, and especially the relevant ministerial lines to the Tibar port project, can advance, so that, before it goes into activity, everything related to its operation can be overcome.

I come to visit the Tibar port, especially the preparations, to observe how the development level is, and how Ministries that have connection to the port can advance the preparations, because next year, in May, the work will be delivered. Therefore, the first objective of this visit is to observe the works development and, based on the information have presented to us, 45% are already completed. The second objective is to see what preparations still need to be made, so that, before delivery to the Government, everything is ready, to help its operationalization”, said the Head of the Government.

Relevant news: https://www.gpm.gov.tl/tl/portu-foun-tibar-sei-halao-operasaun-iha-abril-2022

The Minister who accompanied the Prime Minister during this visit to the Tibar port were: the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and Territory, José Reis, the Minister of  Public Works, Salvador Eugénio dos Reis Pires, and his Vice Minister, the Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, the Minister of the Transports of Communications, José Agustinho da Silva, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, José Lucas do Carmo da Silva, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, Francisco Jerónimo, and the representatives of ADN and Serve.

The Tibar Bay Port Project is being developed by the Chinese company China Harbour, and is the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) megaproject between the Government of Timor-Leste and Bolloré Group (Timor-Port S.A.)

This port will have a wharf 630-meter-long and 15-meter-wide, a container yard of 27 hectares, a storage capacity of 20,000 containers and an annual capacity of up to one million containers. When completed, this port will be a “state-of-the-art” port, with modern equipment capable of ensuring fast and efficient movement in loading and unloading import and export containers. The new port has the capacity to receive larger ships than the current Dili Port and will ensure a lower operation cost. END/M-PMO