Local developing company Charlestrong Engineering Technology and Consulting Limited is waiting for authorisation from the East Timor newly elected government to advance with a resort development project, the company’s Vice-President, Afonso Chan, told Business Daily yesterday.
The 60-room project to be developed in the country’s special economic zone RAEOA (Special Autonomous Region of Oecusse Ambeno) was previously expected to be concluded in the first quarter of this year.
“From our part everything is prepared and all the materials are in place. It’s just a new conversation now with the new government to advance the project,” Mr. Chan added.
The Asian country saw a lot of political changes this year, with the country’s 1.2 million population electing Mari Alkatiri as its new Prime-Minister this month and after a general election in July saw the Fretilin party winning by a small margin and forced to create a minority coalition government with the Democratic Party.
The political change also led to the halt of another of Charlestrong’s projects in the country, having concluded six low cost model houses for local army veterans but currently waiting for instructions by the new government to hand them over.
“The model houses will now be evaluated by the country’s government […] We are using the techniques we developed for a project in Mozambique and bringing it to East Timor,” Mr. Chan told Business Daily.
African experience
In 2014, Charlestrong signed a contract with Mozambique’s government housing bureau for the second phase of construction of the Olympic Village, a 240-apartment complex in Maputo for middle and lower-income residents.
Then in 2015 the company signed an agreement to build 35,000 housing projects in the Lusophone country, partnering with Chinese companies BNBM Group and China Machinery Engineering Cooperation (CMEC).
In July of this year the group also obtained a license for a viability study to develop a thermal station in the African country city of Tete, also in partnership with CMEC.
A company delegation will now visit both Mozambique and East Timor in October to follow-up on the projects, the entrepreneur told Business Daily.
“No matter the government we still have confidence in the future of East Timor,” Mr. Chan added.
