On March 15, the Prime Minister, Marí Alkatiri, accompanied by the Minister of Planning and Finance, Rui Augusto Gomes, presided over the environmental license delivery ceremony and signature of the agreement for the construction of the Tibar Port in the Liquiça municipality.

The Tibar Port, to be constructed 10 kilometers west of Dili, is a priority infrastructure identified in the Timor-Leste Strategic Development Plan (2011-2030). The construction of this world class terminal will be carried out through Timor Port SA, a public-private partnership (PPP) between the consortium Bolloré and the Government of Timor-Leste, where two docks of about 630 meters are planned to receive more than 870,000 containers annually.

The Minister of Planning and Finance stated that the future Port “aims to facilitate trade and promote the country’s economic development” and stressed that Bolloré, PPP partner of the Timor-Leste Government for the construction of the Tibar Port, “is a company known worldwide, which will enable the construction of a world-class infrastructure with a total investment of 500 million over the next 30 years“.

The Prime Minister pointed out the “importance of this project for the national economy and for the creation of jobs in the community” and said that “the state’s money for the construction of this project comes from non-renewable resources, oil and gas, which means that this large investment must translate into positive results for the country.” Marí Alkatiri assured also that “the environmental management of this project will receive great attention from the Seventh and Eighth Governments, as sustainability is directly linked to environmental management”.

The Head of Government congratulated Bolloré and China Harbour, the companies responsible for the Tibar Port construction and said he has no doubts that when the Tibar Port is built, Timor-Leste will play an important role in the region in the context of maritime transport and in trade and industry development.