DAVID FULLBROOK / SINGAPORE
East Timor plans to expand its airports and negotiate air services agreements with Australia and Indonesia over the next few months following its emergence last month from United Nations administration.
The 1,800m (6,000ft)-long runway at Dili, capital of the newly independent nation, needs extending by at least 200m at a cost of $5 million, says transport, communications and public works minister Ovidio de Jesus Amaral. The runway is too short to safely accommodate fully laden Boeing 737s. The airport at the Oecussi enclave also needs expanding to improve links with Dili.
Both projects are being held up by budget constraints, says de Jesus Amaral. East Timor is almost exclusively funded by foreign aid, with oil revenues from offshore fields not yet flowing.
East Timor's other two airports are Bacau, a former Indonesian air force base and now the country's main international gateway, and Suai, East Timor's other major town.
Meanwhile, East Timor hopes to forge air services agreements with Australia and Indonesia. Flights by Air North and Merpati Nusantara Airlines now operate under ad hoc arrangements made by the UN administration that ran East Timor for two years.
East Timor Air, a venture between New Zealand's Vincent Aviation and East Timorese businessman Jerry de Sousa, hopes to begin operations within the next few months.
Talks with Australia are expected to start in August or September. East Timor is also interested in agreeing frameworks for air services with Malaysia and Singapore.
Work is also moving forward on writing rules for civil aviation, including aircraft certification, maintenance and repair. Under the UN, a civil aviation administration was established and a civil aviation law codified.
Source: Flight International
