The Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, together with the President of the Republic, José Ramos Horta, witnessed today, May 29th, 2023, at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the important event of the contract signing ceremony for the requalification and expansion of the President Nicolau Lobato International Airport. The signature was held by the Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agostinho, as the project holder, by the responsible for the Indonesian company that won the tender, PT. Waskita Karya (Persero) TBK and by the representative of the Indonesian consulting company, PT Amythas IN JV Meinhardt PCM.
The signing was also attended by a Japan Business Consortium, comprising Japan Airport Consultants, INC, Ehira Architects and Engineers, INC, Oriental Consultants Global CO, LTD, and Nippon Koei CO, LTD, which will be responsible for the Detailed Engineering Design (DED), the construction of the passenger terminals, and consulting. The Waskita Karya Company will be responsible for the expansion of the current runway from 1,850 meters to 2,100 meters, the construction of taxiways, the control tower and aircraft parking areas.
The Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agostinho, in his speech, referred that, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, the 8th Constitutional Government is making every effort to take a step forward in improving the AIPNL infrastructure system, so that it becomes one of the main Timor-Leste’s gateways, following international standards.
The expansion of the airport’s runway will be carried out in three stages. The first stage will extend the current runway from 1,850 meters to 2,100 meters, the second stage will extend it another 400 meters into the sea, taking it to 2,500 metres, and the third stage will add another 500 metres in the opposite direction, taking it up to 3,000 meters, so that it can accommodate large-capacity aircraft.
The ceremony was attended by the Indonesian Ambassador in Dili, the Japanese Ambassador in Dili, a representative of the Australian Embassy, a representative of ADB in Timor-Leste, a representative of the IFC in Timor-Leste, members of the Government, and officials from other relevant entities.