On August 26, 2022, a ceremony was held in Dili, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, to celebrate the opening of the “National Highway No. 1 Development Project” (paid financial cooperation project). The ceremony was attended by Mr. Joaquim Amaral, Minister for Economic Coordination, Mr. Rui Gomez, Minister of Finance, Mr. Abel Pires, Minister of Public Works, and others from Timor-Leste, and by Mr. Masami Kinebuchi, Ambassador of Japan to Timor-Leste, and Mr. Hikaru Goto, JICA Timor-Leste Office Director. At the ceremony, Minister of Public Works Abel Pires expressed his hope that National Highway 1 will contribute to the development of Timor-Leste, and thanked Japan for its cooperation over the past 20 years. Ribbon-cutting ceremony
Timor-Leste’s only mode of transportation is by road, except for a limited number of sea routes, but the steep mountainous terrain and fragile geology make the country vulnerable to landslides, and roads are blocked during the rainy season, forcing people to stay on the road. In July 2011, the country’s Strategic Development Plan (2011-2030) placed a high priority on the construction of paved roads that can be traveled throughout the year and the construction of a road network for the entire province, and the National Highway Route 1 project was positioned as a top national priority in the plan.
JICA and the Asian Development Bank cooperated to rehabilitate the road between Dili, the capital city, and Baucau, the second largest city in the country (about 116 km), as the first loaned project in the country. This section was the busiest arterial road in the country, but before the project was implemented, the road was only 4 m wide and there were many unpaved sections, and the average driving time between Dili and Baucau was 5 hours. This project paved the road according to the newly established road standards, widened it to 6 and 7 meters, and constructed drainage facilities and road slope protection walls, reducing the travel time between Dili and Baucau to less than 3 hours.
National Highway 1, which was completed through the steady efforts of both Japanese and Timorese stakeholders, will play an important role in the stable growth and development of Timor-Leste. JICA will continue to promote cooperation for the realization of quality growth in Timor-Leste.
© Source JICA