LOCAL COMPETITION FOR MARKET RENOVATION CONTRACTS
The rehabilitation of the Becora and Comoro markets will start by the first week of July.
Fifteen local companies are competing for the six contracts presently out for tender. The tender process will end next week and the selection of the successful contractors is expected to take another week.
The reconstruction of the markets is part of a comprehensive plan to renovate and put Dili’s markets in order. The project is funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, JICA, which in turn enlisted the help of the Japanese NGO ADRA. The JICA has made available approximately US$552,000 as initial funding.
The work, expected to be completed in three months, includes the renovation of roofs and the building of numerous modern market buildings and vendor stalls.
Some of the work, such as the reinforcement of the foundations of the markets and the building of modern toilet facilities, has already been completed by a Timorese contractor.
The Dili Market Committee is hopeful that the improved and more secure conditions at Becora and Comoro markets will act as a magnet, drawing sellers from the overcrowded Central Market and the fish market at the Dili oceanfront.
The first phase of the project started in mid-May when the Dili District Administration, with the help of PKF engineers from Bangladesh and Portugal, demolished all remaining structures in the two destroyed market areas in Becora and Comoro.
