Government of Timor-Leste

The Government of Timor-Leste has made, through the Escrow Account managed by the Ministry of Finance (MF) from August 2019 until May 2021, a payment of its contribution to the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) in the amount of USD$ 64.7 million to Timor Port S.A., the concessionaire of the Tibar Bay Port Public Private Partnership (PPP) project.

This payment was made after the construction of the Tibar Bay Port reached 50%. According to the schedule, construction will end in May 2022, when the port will start operating.

When construction is completed and operations begin, this new and modern port will allow for the movement of imported and exported goods, reducing waiting times, transaction costs and also container release times, thus facilitating companies' commercial activity.

The operation of the Tibar Bay Port will facilitate the efficiency of the customs services, which is considered an important step for the Ministry of Finance, within the framework of the Tax and Public Finance Management Reform, which was initiated in the year 2015. This improvement in efficiency will also assist the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, as well as the users of this port, namely importers, in the process of collecting revenue in a faster, fairer and more transparent manner.

This new and state-of-the-art port has a wharf with two berths, and a container terminal with capacity to handle one million containers per year. This port will connect Timor-Leste to the global market and improve Timor-Leste's commercial access to agricultural, tourism, fisheries, livestock, and other industries - a means to assist Timor-Leste in diversifying its production. Finally, the operation of this port will facilitate Timor-Leste's connectivity to the Asian and other regions.

Until February 2021, the China Harbour company, which won the construction contract from the Timor Port company, subcontracted various services to 61 companies, amounting to USD$ 20.4 million, and directly and indirectly benefited 375 Timorese workers. Of these 61 companies, 39 are local companies, 21 are international companies that are established in Timor-Leste, and there is only one international company.

Currently, 1,134 workers are working on the construction of the Port of Tibar Bay. Of these, 691 are Timorese workers (60.93%).

The Timor Port Concessionaire, independent engineers, the Tibar Bay Port Project Management Unit and the National Environmental Licensing Authority (ANLA – Portuguese acronym) carry out periodic monitoring of the environmental impact and, according to the monthly report submitted by the Concessionaire, as well as ANLA's report, there is no significant impact to the environment, with the indicators for the construction of the Tibar Bay Port at zero for environmental pollution and zero for hazardous waste.

Regarding the development of local content for recreational and sports spaces (blue zone), they will be implemented by the concessionaire Timor Port during the construction period of this project. The Project Management Unit of the Tibar Bay Port has also held discussions with the Ministry of Education to secure a space for the Primary School in Cassait, Ulmera, as long term “blue zone” spaces to be sustainable.

The construction of the Tibar Bay Port, in the PPP modality, is a partnership between the Government of Timor-Leste, which allocated USD$ 130 million to the Viability Fund (VGF) and Timor Port, a subsidiary of Bollorè, which allocated USD$ 150 million. In total, it is USD$ 280 million for the initial construction phase, with an estimated total investment of USD$ 500 million, over 30 years.

This project is classified as a project of public interest, and is led by the Interministerial Committee which monitors this project at a high level, and also receives technical recommendations from the Tibar Bay Port Project Management Unit. The current members of the Interministerial Committee are the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Planning and Territory and the Ministry of Transports and Telecommunications.