On November 30th, 2022, the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, and the President of the Republic, José Ramos Horta, officially inaugurated the Tibar Bay Port, the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project in the country.
The new and modern Tibar Bay Port, which replaces the Port of Dili, was built as a PPP between the Government of Timor-Leste, with a contribution of US$ 130 million, through the Viability Gap Fund (VGF), and Timor-Port, a subsidiary of Bolloré, which invested US$ 150 million. The total value of the initial phase is thus US$ 280 million, out of a total expected investment of US$ 500 million, over 30 years.
This new commercial port, built by China Harbour Engineering Company, a Chinese state-owned company, will improve Timor-Leste’s maritime connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region, link Timor-Leste to global trade markets, and increase the country’s commercial access to markets in areas such as agriculture, tourism, fisheries, livestock, and other industries – a way to allow Timor-Leste to diversify its production.