On April 23, 2019, the Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak met at the Government Palace in Dili with the Board of Directors of the Infrastructure Fund (CAFI) to discuss and analyze the situation of the Infrastructure Fund (IF) projects underway and to define the priority projects for 2020, in order to ensure compliance with legal procedures and the quality of work undertaken.
During the meeting, the members of CAFI and the Prime Minister analyzed the projects of the infrastructure fund that are currently under way or in the process of evaluation and study, in particular the project of the Port of Tibar, the rehabilitation of rural roads withim the Roads for Development (R4D) program and the Public Buildings Program with the construction of the new headquarters of the Equipment Management Institute (IGE).
CAFI and Government officials also discussed the impact of infrastructures on the national economy, mainly on job creation, through the involvement of small, medium and large national companies and community projects, as well as the use of local raw materials in the development of these projects, in order to ensure a direct impact on local communities by increasing jobs and improving the living conditions of these communities, enabling them to establish populations in their municipalities and increase the permanence of capital in national territory.
CAFI is composed of its President, the Acting Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, Agio Pereira and the other members of the Board of Directors, the Acting Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites, the Minister of Public Works, Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires and the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva.
The Board of Directors of the Infrastructure Fund was established by the Government as the executive body with authority over the decision-making process for all matters related to Infrastructure Fund projects, a financial instrument established in 2011 to support strategic projects to strengthen growth in Timor-Leste by facilitating the development of infrastructure and provisioning of financial sources for road and bridge projects, airports and seaports, water and energy supply, education and health, tourism and other large projects with a budget exceeding one million dollars.
The sustainability of the Infrastructure Fund is directly linked to the strategic priorities of economic development, social and environmental impacts, aligned with the Sustainable Development Objectives and the Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030.
In addition to the Prime Minister and members of CAFI, the Minister of Legislative Reform and Parliamentary Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, the Director of the Secretariat of Major Projects (SGP), Krispim Fernandes, the Director-General of the National Development Authority (ADN), Samuel Marçal, the Director General of the National Procurement Commission, Aniceto do Rosario and the President of TimorGap, Francisco Monteiro, were also present at the meeting.