The government of Timor-Leste announced on Monday it has given Damen Shipyards Group NV the contract to build a roll-on, roll-off ferry capable of carrying 380 passengers at the Dutch shipbuilder’s yard in Yichang, in central China’s Hubei province.
The government issued a written statement saying it will pay US$7.9 million of the US$16.6 million cost of the ship, and that the German government will pay the rest.
The Timor-Leste government says the ferry is due to replace in 2021 an older ship in need of repair which serves to connect Dili with Oecusse to the west and the island of Ataúro to the north.
Efforts will be made to provide adequate infrastructure to allow the ship to serve other parts of the island of Timor, notably the northeast coast, to increase tourism, the Timor-Leste government says.
