SIMIC

The President of the Republic of Timor Leste, Dr Jose Ramos Horta, inaugurated the Tibar Bay Deepwater Port on November 30, in the presence of Bollore Ports CEO, Philippe Labonne, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, General Taur Matan Ruak, and members of the Dili port community and of the Asia Pacific region.

As the first public-private partnership in the country, Bollore said this new port aims to improve logistics services in East Timor and responds to current developments in the maritime and port world.

Timor Port is expected to become a regional transshipment hub, in a bid to enhance the country's attractiveness within the Asia-Pacific region and accelerate its economic development.

The new platform, located 12 kilometres from the capital Dili, received investment of US$490 million and took four years to build.

It has a 630 metre-long quay with 16 metres of draught and is equipped with the latest generation of handling equipment, including two STS gantries and four e-RTG gantries.

In its first phase of operation, the port will be able to accommodate 7,500 TEU and handle more than 200,000 TEU per year.

"We are pleased with the completion of this major project, the largest to date in Timor-Leste," said Mr Labonne.

"We are honoured by the trust the Timorese government placed in us and we have done our utmost to be worthy of it. We have been present in the country for many years and are proud of this new contribution to the local economy.

"Together, we will develop the activities of Tibar Bay Port with the ambition of positioning it as a reference infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region."

Timor Port officially kicked off activities on September 30 with the arrival of the vessels Selatan Damai of the Singaporean company Mariana Express Lines (MELL) and Meratus Pematangsiantar of the shipowner Meratus.