Timor-Leste
Improved Port Paying Off for Timor-Leste
The development of Hera Port employed 800 workers—and promises to help feed the country
By Graham Dwyer (gdwyer@adb.org)
External Relations Specialist
HERA, TIMOR-LESTE
FISH CENTER New port facilities in Hera will provide a center for handling and distributing fish for Dili and elsewhere
With limited inshore marine resources that are vulnerable to overfishing, Timor-Leste has long faced the challenge of providing sufficient and affordable animal protein to feed its population.
The biggest obstacle has been the lack of port facilities for larger vessels that could sail offshore to catch small, fast-growing, and abundant fish species, such as sardines and mackerels.
But this is changing, with the help of an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-administered port rehabilitation project inaugurated recently in Hera, about 16 kilometers (km) east of the capital Dili.
The project is funded by a $1 million grant from the multidonor Trust Fund for East Timor (TFET), which has financed many essential infrastructure projects in the country.
“The project has built excellent facilities that will provide improved mooring and unloading facilities in Hera, and act as a center for the handling and distribution of fish for Dili and elsewhere,” says Helen Baxter, Social Protection Specialist of ADB’s Pacific Department.
Over five years, it is estimated the port will yield an extra 1,360 tons of catch, providing more than half the recommended daily per capita consumption of fish
“During project implementation, more than 800 workers benefited from various employment opportunities, which also brought benefits to their families and the wider community.”
The project also emphasized local purchase of materials and the lease and hire of equipment from the people of Timor-Leste to help the local economy.
The scope of the project was relatively modest—strengthening and repairing three breakwaters totaling 140 meters (m) in length, and rehabilitating the wharf faces of the harbor basin, totaling about 400 m.
In addition, the harbor basin was dredged, and aprons and side areas paved. Besides facilities for larger boats, the port provides ice, and repair and maintenance for marine engines and other fishing equipment.
VALUABLE CATCH Fish is an important part of the diet of people in Timor-Leste
“Unskilled workers employed by the project have received useful training in special requirements for marine structures construction,” Ms. Baxter points out. “This should ensure that the harbor can be maintained on a sustainable basis in the future.”
Over five years, it is estimated the port will yield an extra 1,360 tons of catch, providing more than half the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-recommended daily per capita consumption of fish. The project is on track to achieve its aim of contributing to the long-term food security of the people of Timor-Leste.
Timor-Leste became ADB’s 61st member country on 23 July 2002. Besides the port project, ADB has also been assisting funding agencies in preparing and carrying out TFET grant projects totaling $52.8 million. These include emergency infrastructure, water and sanitation, and microfinance development projects.
Since 2000, ADB has also committed $8.6 million for 20 technical assistance grant projects to Timor-Leste.
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