Construction of the port of Tibar, west of Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste (East Timor), led by Bolloré Ports, a division of French group Bolloré Transport & Logistics, was formally launched on Wednesday.
 
Xanana Gusmão, Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment, noted the importance of private investment in Timor-Leste’s development, defending the option of a public-private partnership model, according to Portuguese news agency Lusa.
 
The start of this project, costing an estimated US$490 million, occurred almost a year after the government and the Bolloré Transport & Logistics group signed a contract to design, build and operate the port of Tibar.
 
The port will have a 630-metre long and 15-metre deep dock, a 27-hectare container storage area and state-of-the-art equipment, including two ship-to-shore cranes and five rubber-tyred cranes.
 
Bolloré Ports was the company selected in a public tender to carry out this project, under the first ever public-private partnership in Timor-Leste and with a concession contract valid for 30 years.
The public-private partnership involves an initial investment of US$148.85 million from private partners and US$129.45 million from the government, with Bolloré Port investing another US$211.7 million over the concession period.
 
Located 10 kilometres west of Dili in the Bay of Tibar, the project involved the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank group subsidiary for the private sector, which acted as adviser in the creation of a public- private partnership model.(macauhub)