Timor-Leste signs contracts to extend electricity lines to 25 hamlets
The agreements cover 17 packages in an electrification programme, while other packages remain under evaluation or are being retendered.
Timor-Leste’s public electricity utility, Eletrisidade de Timor-Leste (EDTL), signed agreements with 17 companies on 29 October 2026 for electricity line extensions serving 25 hamlets nationwide.
EDTL executive commission president Paulo da Silva said the programme’s second phase contained 34 packages. Besides those signed, four were being retendered and 13 were under evaluation. He expected the evaluation process to finish within one or two weeks, allowing further contracts to be signed.
Da Silva called on contractors to meet their implementation schedules, citing the government’s goal of completing electrification for every hamlet in 2026. Public Works Minister Samuel Marçal, who witnessed the signing, separately said all hamlets would have access to electricity lines by mid-2027.
Marçal said the government would seek solar-panel installations for households in remote or hard-to-reach areas beyond the electricity network’s reach. He also encouraged local businesses to participate in infrastructure projects, saying the private sector had a role alongside the government in developing the country.
