Tibar Bay Port

Tibar Bay Port (Porto da Baía de Tíbar, Portu Baía Tibar) is a container seaport at Tibar Bay, near Dili, the capital city of East Timor. The largest item of infrastructure in East Timor, and in the country's history, it commenced operations on 30 September 2022.

Geography
The port is located on the western side of Tibar Bay, approximately 12 km west of Dili.

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 ), it also amounted to the country's largest ever private investment.

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.

Subsequently, Bolloré Group contracted with China Harbour Engineering Company to construct the new port. Amongst the works required to complete the construction project were 3.5 e6m3 of dredging, reclamation of 27 ha of land, and establishment of related housing, storage yards and other supporting facilities.

The construction work was declared to be underway in June 2017 and August 2018, and was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020. 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.

In February 2021, the port's Executive Director informed the government that the construction project had reached 42% completion at the end of December 2020, and had proceeded to construction of pillars, wharf compaction, and yard work. But there had also been delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and final completion was now predicted to be reached in April 2022.

In particular, the pandemic had caused the majority of foreign workers, mainly from China, to return to their home countries. The project manager therefore asked the government to authorize a special flight from Guangzhou in China directly to Dili, to carry 186 workers, so that the works can be completed according to the revised plan. The government agreed to facilitate such a flight.

As of the end of 2021, the port works were 72% complete, and construction was expected to be finished in May 2022, but then there were further delays.

The port's ship-to-shore (STS) gantries and rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs) were unloaded in mid-May 2022, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, and several members of his government. By then, the government was saying, based on the then current plans, that the port would be ready to become operational in September or October 2022.

The first container unloading tests were conducted in mid-September 2022, using two vessels belonging to Mariana Line, a subsidiary of Pacific International Lines (PIL). A total of 500 containers were unloaded in less than 24 hours for each vessel, and 22 full containers were loaded for export.

On 21 September 2022, the government announced that the port would come into operation on 30 September 2022. Operations commenced with the arrival of the vessels Selatan Damai and Meratus Pematangsiantar. On 30 November 2022, President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak presided over the port's official inauguration ceremony.

Between the commencement of its operations and its official inauguration, the port collected US$195,000 in various fees.

With effect from December 2022, Bolloré Group sold Bolloré Africa Logistics, the owner and operator of the port, to the MSC Group of Switzerland, and in March 2023 MSC Group announced that the name of the company had been changed to Africa Global Logistics.

Description
Tibar Bay Port is the largest item of infrastructure in East Timor, and in the country's history. It consists of a 630 m wharf with a 15 m draft, and a 29 ha container yard.

The port can receive larger ships than the Port of Dili, and thus has better operating economics. Its wharf includes a 7,000-TEU berth and a 3,500-TEU berth. When fully operational, it will be East Timor's only logistics centre for maritime cargo transport and trade.

As such, the port represents a significant change in maritime cargo transport to and from East Timor. Previously, such transport was strongly affected by the limited size of the Port of Dili, as that port could only receive ships equipped with cranes, and was plagued by delays in the processing of containers, and by 'extra costs', often 'hidden'. By contrast, Tibar Bay Port has an annual cargo throughput capacity of up to one million containers, and a storage capacity of 20,000 containers.

Shortly before the port went into operation, the president of its board of directors, Laurent Palayer, claimed to Lusa News Agency that the near-monopoly container operator in the country, Meratus Line [translation]:

""... have been working in a niche market, without competition, with high profit margins. And now, instead of adjusting prices, they just want to increase. In practice, they will save money: less waiting time, less time in port and the ability to bring in larger ships,""

Mobile equipment at Tibar Bay Port includes two ship-to-shore (STS) gantries, four rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs), 10 terminal tractors and 16 trailers. At 80 m high, the STS gantries are East Timor's tallest structures, and, as the port's most visible element, dominate its landscape. The port also has 11.6 ha of offices and workshops, and X-ray scanners have been approved for purchase.

By January 2023, the port had 38 permanent staff and 32 permanent workers from the local area, and the port's subcontractors had engaged 76 workers. It is expected the total number of staff will reach 200. The port's Executive Director is Rafael Ribeira.