Dili, 27 February 2001
PORTUGUESE CIVILIAN COMPANIES MANAGE DILI AIRPORT

SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Head of the Portuguese Mission in East Timor Pedro Moitinho de Almeida signed today an agreement to transfer the management of the airspace and traffic control of the Dili Airport to two Portuguese civilian air companies. ANA and NAV-Portugal will start their operations on 1 March. The following day, the Australian Air Force will have a parade to mark the hand over. The Memorandum of Understanding covers the management of the airport and a capacity building programme for 66 East Timorese staff over a period of 15 months. The contract amounts to a total of US$4.2 million. Last week, the East Timor Transitional Cabinet endorsed the agreement and said that the improved management of the airport will generate income for East Timor through the development of new economic opportunities at the airport, such as shops and parking facilities. The civilian management will also ensure the continuing availability of services.

CENTRAL PAYMENTS OFFICE OPENS

The East Timor Central Payments Office will be officially opened by SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello tomorrow, 28 February, in a ceremony at the institution’s newly renovated building, in central Dili. Cabinet members, diplomatic representatives, the banking community, IMF and National Council and CNRT President Xanana Gusmão are expected to attend. The Central Payments Office (CPO) was established in January 2000 through UNTAET’s Regulation No. 2000/6. Formulate and implement policies for payments and systems for transactions in the legal tender; provide payments and storage services for foreign governments and foreign banks; ensure an adequate supply of bank notes and coins of the legal tender, and issue licenses to banks and dealers are among CPO’s main responsabilities.

CHINA DONATES AGRICULTURE MACHINERY

The Department of Agriculture of the East Timor Transitional Administration received today more than 200 agriculture machines, including tractors and excavators donated by the Chinese Government. The donation is worth more than US$ 6 million. The ceremony was held in the Coffee Warehouse in Tibar, in the outskirts of Dili.

CIVIL REGISTRATION AND TV EDUCATION TESTED

Hundreds of people showed up at the civil registration sites set up in Atauro island, in front of Dili, for a week-long pilot project. Around 150 people received their registration cards and hundreds more were informed of what is needed to register. In addition, UNTAET TV, or Televisão Timor Lorosa’e, conducted a two-day test of a civic education program in Vila, Atauro’s main village, watched by hundreds of people. By mid-March 2001, the national civil registration will be launched with 65 registration sites throughout East Timor’s 13 districts. Information will be gathered to issue identity cards to people above the age of 16 and to gather all necessary data on eligible voters for the upcoming election.