The HydroTimor weBlog

We knew it was supposed to happen, but were still left with an unreal feeling, realising the time actually was here Sunday 28 June 2009: “Mr Alf” Adeler left East Timor.

Don’t misunderstand, we realise that after many years working very hard for HydroTimor, Mr Alf needs to go back to his family in Norway and resume life with his wife, children and grand-children, and we wish him all the best! It’s just that after his major contribution to the development of East Timor, we have to wonder what lies next, how do we carry on his legacy?

New people will come and continue the development of hydroelectric power and hydrology, and we are confident they will do a great job. But there is no doubt that an era is over. We have witnessed something special, something great, something beautiful, and we are grateful and touched. For all you have done, Mr Alf we thank you, and know that we will miss you!

Photo: Basil Rolandsen (Bouvet Foundation)

Kassius Klei, our Programme Manager for the institutional cooperation between Timor-Leste and Norway within the power sector, who has worked with us for more than four years, will leave us for a period for further studies.

Kassius has got a scholarship from Norway to study for his Master degree within Energy at the School of Environmental Resources and Development at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand. He will be away for a period of two years, and will thereafter join us with even more competency than today.

We congratulate Kassius with his scholarship, and wish him all the best during his studies. And we look forward to have him back with us after the two years. We hope he will send regular information to our blog! Best luck, Kassius!

Photo: Basil Rolandsen (Bouvet Foundation)

Extension of the office for HydroTimor and the National Directorate for Water Resources Management is progressing.

For more than two years now the part of Ministry of Infrastructure dealing with hydrology and hydropower, called by our self for HydroTimor, has had the office in a small building at the Electricidade de Timor-Leste (EDTL) premises in Caicoli, Dili.

Since we have been merged with the National Directorate for Water Resources Management, the office space has become too small.

Norway granted during the Annual Meeting 2009 an amount sufficient to enlarge the office building to cater for at least 20 persons in good working facilities, and to purchase
office furniture and other equipment.

After a tendering process, the local company Baboe from Dili was the winner, and started construction work at the middle of April 2009. The plan is to complete the building before the 22 June 2009. The consultant for the construction is Lemorai Lafoti Consultant from Dili.

The work is progressing according to schedule, and will when completed make the old, small office to a large, nice office building. Emphasis has been made to make it a strong building, which is large, but without looking like a very large building.

By sitting together, the complete National Directorate for Water Resources Management will become an efficient unit, working close together, ready to serve others in Timor-Leste who will need data from us, and to assist to develop Timor-Leste in the right way!

Photo: Basil Rolandsen (Bouvet Foundation)

It took around four years, and quite a lot of follow-up, but finally the two HydroTimor staff Mr Kassius Klei Ximenes (Programme Manager and Counterpart) and Ms Maria Mendonca Moniz (Accountant and Office Manager) became Cicil Servants and formally hired by the Ministry for Infrastructure (MIS).

The inauguration ceremony took place at the EDTL compound in Caicoli 24 March 2009, and was attended by MIS representatives including Minister Mr Pedro da Silva Lay, Vice Minister Mr Jose Manuel Carascalao, and Secreatary of State for Electricity, Water and Urbanization Mr Januario da Costa Pereira, among others.

A total of 99 MIS employees became civil servants during the ceremony. This included 8 at level 1, 17 at level 2, 39 at level 3, 23 at level 4, 8 at level 5, and 4 at level 6.

From left: Mr Inacio Leite, Ms Gina Correia, Ms Maria Mendonca Moniz, Mr Kassius Klei Ximenes, Mr Belarmino Freitas

Photo: Basil Rolandsen (Bouvet Foundation)

The Power Sector Annual Meeting between Timor-Leste and Norway was conducted 26 February 2009 in the new EDTL Conference Centre. An institutional cooperation within the power sector was initiated in 2003, and includes the Timor-Leste Ministry for Infrastructure and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).

Activities until now include significant human resources training and development, feasibility studies for hydropower projects (including Iralalaru in Lautem), one mini hydroelectric power plant with transmission line constructed (Gariuai in Baucau), and initial installation of a new national hydrological network.

The Annual Meeting requested Norway to continue the institutional cooperation with Timor-Leste for a new period of 5 years, starting June 2009. The main effort should be within human resources development, hydroelectric power planning and construction, and within hydrology.

Priorities include completion of a hydrological network, to cover all of Timor-Leste. A data storing and handling model should be purchased and installed, and people trained to support hydrological data for projects in need of such data.

Another aim is to start the pre-feasibility study for a new mini/small hydroelectric power project around mid 2009.

A complete Hydropower Master Plan for Timor-Leste will be developed as part of the cooperation, and this work is intended to start within this year. This plan will map the available water resources in the country, and analyse possibilities for construction of more hydroelectric power plants. This will be an important resource for developing more clean and renewable energy in the years to come.

The ongoing feasibility study for the Atsabe small hydroelectric power project (in Ermera) is progressing, and the plan is to implement this as a cooperation and training project between Timor-Leste and Norway. The TL government expressed an interest for a co-financing agreement with Norway. Necessary documentation should be completed and decisions made within this year, with construction to be started shortly thereafter!

A new man has joined the team working with the institutional cooperation program between Timor-Leste and Norway! His name is Egil Skofteland, and he comes from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate.

His main tasks will be to write the Project Document for the new period, and the development of hydrology in Timor-Leste. Hydrology will include both completing the hydrological network, establish the database and information system and training and education of people to work within this field in the future in Timor-Leste.

UPDATE: Egil has gone back to Norway, and will finish the project document there. The hydrology development has not yet started, but we hope this may happen in a not too distant future.

Photo: Basil Rolandsen (www.bouvet.info)

The Power Sector Annual Meeting between Timor-Leste and Norway was held in Dili 7th February 2008.

Photo: Basil Rolandsen (www.bouvet.info)

After opening of the meeting by the Minister of Infrastructure, Mr Pedro da Silva Lay, the meeting was headed by the Secretary of State for Electricity, Water and Urbanization, Mr Januario da Costa Pereira. The Chargée d’Affairs from the Norwegian Embassy Section in Dili, Ms Eva Irene Tuft, represented Norway together with the counsellor Mette Kottmann from the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta.

The intention for such meetings is to discuss the progress of the cooperation between the two countries, the use of funds compared to what have been achieved and possible changes in the program for the cooperation.

The first phase of the cooperation will be completed this year.
The Annual Meeting recommended a prolongation of the cooperation for a new period of 5 years. There will be a special emphasis on hydropower and hydrology, included fulfilling of the hydrological network in Timor-Leste, and to establish a database and information system for the hydrological data.

It was further recommended that Norway should finance and carry out a Hydropower Master Plan for Timor-Leste, and a Power System Master Plan.
Norway would aim to finance the construction of the Atsabe Small Hydropower Project in Magapu river.

Support was also requested as to the legal framework, accounting principles, technical and financial reporting, and procurement.

We got as greeting from one of our readers, Gaspar, an East Timorese studying abroad. He sends his congratulations to the HydroTimor team on the web site, and says it is a good way to be updated for students. He also asks a question on a subject many may be interested in: “Can u enable your comments section so that we can give our opinion??”.

First: Thank you so much Gaspar for your greetings and nice words – much appreciated by us all! As for comments, we would love to open up for comments, really, but the fact of the matter is that we would be overflowed by spam by allowing comments. We would however love to hear from our readers, so just use the email address on the web site. Thanks and best regards!

UPDATE: We are now open for comments! A spam filter has been tested for a while, and we are now announcing that comments are now both possible and more than welcome…

Thank you for checking out the weblog! It is to be a part of the HydroTimor website, and we aim for it to be launched by the beginning of April 2007. Welcome back!