Tibar Bay Port

Tibar Bay Port (Portuguese: Porto da Baía de Tíbar, Tetum: Portu Baía Tibar) is a container seaport at Tibar Bay, near Dili, the capital city of East Timor. It opened on 30 September 2022.

Tibar Bay Port
The port under construction in May 2021
The port under construction in May 2021
Location of port in East Timor
Native name
Location
CountryEast Timor
LocationTibar Bay
Coordinates8°34′22″S 125°28′28″E
Details
Operated byBolloré Group

Geography

The port is located on the western side of Tibar Bay, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Dili.[1]

History

In June 2016, the government of East Timor signed an agreement with the Bolloré Group to build and operate a new container port at Tibar Bay. The 30-year concession contract was the first public-private partnership ever undertaken in East Timor. At a value of US$490 million (comprising $130m public and $360m private funds[2]), it also amounted to the country's largest ever private investment.[1]

The greenfield project was intended to replace the existing, capacity-strained and congestion-ridden container handling facilities at the Port of Dili. The new port was planned to be a modern container port able to handle up to 350,000 TEU annually.[1][3]

Subsequently, Bolloré Group contracted with China Harbour Engineering Company to construct the new port.[3][4]

Construction was declared to be underway in June 2017 and August 2018,[5] and was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020.[2] However, issues with funding and subcontracting delayed progress. The official ceremony launching the project was not held until 15 July 2019, and construction actually began the following month.[3][5]

As of the end of 2021, the port works were 72% complete, and construction was expected to be finished in May 2022.[6]

On 21 September 2022, the government announced that the port would come into operation on 30 September 2022.[7] Operations were inaugurated on the opening day with the arrival of the vessels Selatan Damai and Meratus Pematangsiantar.[8]

Between opening and its official inauguration, the port collected USD$195,000 in various fees.[9]

Facilities

The port consists of a 630 m (2,070 ft) wharf with a 15 m (49 ft) draft, and a 29 ha (72 acres) container yard.[1] It has a capacity for one million container shipments a year.[10] Its equipment includes two ship-to-shore (STS) gantries, four rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs), 10 terminal tractors and 16 trailers.[8] X-ray scanners have been approved for purchase.[9]

By January 2023, the port had 38 permanent staff, and 32 permanent workers from the local area. 76 workers had been employed by the port's subcontractors. It is expected the total number of staff will reach 200.[9]

See also

References
  1. Mooney, Turloch (10 June 2016). "Bolloré to develop new top container port for Timor-Leste". The Journal of Commerce. New York. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. "Bolloré starts work starts on Timor-Leste's $490m deepwater port". Global Construction Review. London. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  3. Staff reporter (6 June 2021). "Timor-Leste's Tibar port opening in May 2022". Macao News. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  4. "Timor-Leste's Tibar Bay Port Project Enters Next Phase". World Maritime News. Schiedam, The Netherlands. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  5. "Third time lucky: Work finally gets under way on $490m Timor-Leste deepwater port". Global Construction Review. London. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  6. "Timor-Leste: Construction of the Port of Tíbar reached 72% in 2021". e-Global News in Portuguese (in Portuguese). 26 February 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  7. "Tibar Bay Port construction reaches 92% and enters into operation on September 30th". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  8. Bruno, Margherita (3 October 2022). "Timor Port starts ops at new Tibar Bay port". Port Technology International. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  9. Filomeno Martins (5 January 2023). "Tibar Port Bay collects more than US$195,000 in two months". Tatoli. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  10. "Timor-Leste: Porto de Tíbar podera abrír em junho" [Timor-Leste: Port of Tíbar may open in June]. e-Global News in Portuguese (in Portuguese). Lisbon. 12 September 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2022.

Further reading

Media related to Tibar Bay Port at Wikimedia Commons

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