The Noefefan Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Noefefan, Tetum: Ponte Noefefan) is a two-lane road bridge over the Tono River in the suco of Lifau, a village in Oecusse, the East Timoreseexclave on the north western coast of Timor. As of 2017[update], when the bridge was inaugurated, it was the largest bridge ever built in East Timor. It connects several isolated communities west of the river with Pante Macassar to its east.
A World Bank report published in 2016, the year before the bridge was completed, observed that 95% of Oecusse households participating in a survey had expressed dissatisfaction with the state of roads and bridges in that region. However, the East Timorese government development program of which the bridge is a part has not been universally praised, and as of 2018, the paved road over the bridge ended abruptly at the latter's western extremity.
Location
The bridge spans the estuary of the Tono River within 0.5km (0.31mi) of the Savu Sea. Its deck carries part of the coastal road linking Pante Macassar, Oecusse's capital city, with Citrana at the exclave's far western end, and also with the road to Passabe near its southernmost point.[2][6][7]
History
Background
Lifau was the first place on the island of Timor to be settled by Europeans. Between 1512 and 1515, Portuguese traders were the first of the Europeans to arrive in the area; they landed near modern Pante Macassar, about 5km (3.1mi) to the east of Lifau. Only much later was a permanent Portuguese settlement established at Lifau.[8][9]
By the seventeenth century, Lifau had become the centre of Portuguese activities on Timor, which had extended into the interior of the island. In 1702, Lifau and its environs officially became a Portuguese colony, known as Portuguese Timor. However, Portuguese control over the territory was tenuous, particularly in the mountainous interior.[8] In 1769, the capital of Portuguese Timor was transferred from Lifau eastwards to Dili, due to frequent attacks from the local Eurasian Topass group. Most of West Timor was left to Dutch forces, who were conquering what is today Indonesia. In the 1780s, a reconciliation took place between the governor in Dili and the Topasses, who henceforth usually supported the Portuguese government.[10]
In 1859, under the Treaty of Lisbon, Portugal and the Netherlands divided the island between them. For the most part, West Timor became Dutch, with its colonial seat at Kupang. East Timor became Portuguese, with its seat in Dili. Lifau and its environs, known as Oecusse, was confirmed as a Portuguese exclave, with the Savu Sea to its north west, but otherwise surrounded by Dutch territory.[11]
In 1975, Indonesia, which had since become independent, began an invasion of Portuguese Timor.[12][13] After conquering that territory, including Oecusse, the Indonesians proceeded to occupy it until 1999, when the East Timorese voted for independence.[14] Before leaving, the Indonesian military and its allies inflicted a scorched earth policy on the territory, especially in Oecusse.[15] When East Timor became independent in 2002, the new Constitution of East Timor expressly provided, in recognition of Oecusse's very longstanding particular disadvantages, that the exclave would "...enjoy special administrative and economic treatment..." and "...be governed by a special administrative policy and economic regime".[15][16]
In 2013, the government of East Timor appointed former prime ministerMari Alkatiri to oversee the development of a special economic zone in Oecusse.[7] The following year, the National Parliament of East Timor took a further step towards complying with the government's constitutional obligations towards Oecusse, by enacting a law for the creation of an Authority of the Oecusse Special Administrative Region (Portuguese: Autoridade da Região Administrativa Especial Oé-Cusse – ARAEO), and for the designation of Oecusse as a Special Zone of Social Market Economy (Portuguese: Zona Especial de Economia Social de Mercado – ZEESM). On 23 and 24 January 2015, the central government formally handed over some of its powers to the ARAEO and the ZEESM.[17]
The Tono bridge project
As well as being an exclave subjected to traditional, centuries-old isolation, the Oecusse of the beginning of the 21st century had natural conditions hampering development. Abundant rainfall often caused floods imposing barriers to transport connections. Especially during the rainy season, the Tono River, the estuary of which reaches a long distance into Oecusse's interior, often cut off half the region from road access to Pante Macassar and Dili. In particular, the river isolated more than 3,600 families who lived in the coastal sucos of Bene-Ufe[de], Usitaco[de], Suni-Ufe[de], Taiboco[de], and part of Lifau, from basic services offered by the government in Pante Macassar.[6][15][18]
The government needed to come up with practical solutions for such naturally caused problems.[15] As early as 2013, Alkatiri was already publicising a fully formed plan for the development of Oecusse. The plan comprised a substantial number of proposed buildings and capital investments, including a 380m (1,250ft) bridge over the Tono River on the coastal road between Pante Macassar and Citrana.[7]
In October 2014, the Ministry of Public Works appointed PT Adhi Karya (Persero), Tbk[id] to construct the proposed bridge, at a contract value of US$17,218,000.[19][20] On 5 November 2014, Alkatiri, in his capacity as president of ARAEO, together with the Minister of Public Works, Gastão de Sousa, presided over ground-breaking ceremonies for the construction of several of the development projects, including the bridge.[21] The actual construction of the bridge did not begin until April 2015, five months later than planned.[3] Initially, the bridge was planned to be a truss bridge.[6] However, at the suggestion of Waagner Biro Indonesia, the company engaged by Adhi Karya to manufacture the bridge's components, the design was modified to transform the planned bridge into a tied-arch structure.[6] An engineering geology study carried out for the construction of the bridge concluded that an arch bridge in the area would have a low level of technical risks,[22] and the bridge ended up being built as a tied-arch bridge.[6][23]
On 10 June 2017, the bridge was inaugurated by the president of East Timor, Francisco Guterres, with assistance from Alkatiri.[2][3] The total cost of the bridge to completion was said to have been US$17 million.[3][15] During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, the president described the bridge as "...undoubtedly, a solid and singularly beautiful basic infrastructure..." and as "...high-quality work [that] embellishes the landscape..."[15] He also commented:
"The Noefefan Bridge is the result of a new philosophy. [It] is an integral part of a new development model ... It is in [Oecusse] that we have been focussing tremendous efforts for the construction of basic infrastructure, necessary to attract national and foreign investors, create jobs, and accelerate sustainable economic growth, while simultaneously ensuring social development."[15][18]
As was acknowledged by the ZEESM when it announced that the bridge had been inaugurated,[2] a World Bank report published in 2016 had observed that 95% of Oecusse households participating in a survey had expressed dissatisfaction with the state of roads and bridges in that region.[24] However, the ZEESM development program of which the bridge is a part has not been universally praised. One commentator, Laura S. Meitzner Yoder, observed in 2016 that many Oecusse residents had initially been excited and positive about the program, but had later become disillusioned, angry and fearful as its implementation had begun in earnest.[25] In 2018, two other commentators, Jerry Courvisanos and Matias Boavida, noted that many public sector works, including the bridge, were being built in Oecusse in a very impressive manner, but went on to comment there had been "...no coordination from the foundation of this project that links the private sector to all that is being built".[26]
As of 2018, when Australian author Lisa Palmer visited the bridge, it was, as she later wrote, a "...coveted symbol of the incoming 'light' of modernity".[27] She stated she had been told that the bridge was "...where the nightlife is really found...", and she had been expecting riverside bars or eateries.[27] During her visit, however, the 'nightlife' was confined to a small group of truck drivers and young motorcyclists taking selfies with the structure of the bridge in the background. Palmer also observed that the paved road over the bridge ended abruptly at the latter's western extremity, and that the dirt road following the coastline from there to the border with Indonesia was "...a long and bumpy slog..."[27]
By 2019, the RAEOA had initiated three further road transport projects, including Package 5, a program for a complex 35km (22mi) long National Road linking the Noefefan Bridge with Citrana, passing through diverse geological landscapes, and requiring the construction of more than 20 road bridges. In July 2019, the RAEOA called for expressions of interest for prequalification of companies interested in providing supervisory engineering services for the three projects.[28]
Description
The Noefefan Bridge is a tied-arch structure weighing approximately 2,000t (2,000 long tons; 2,200 short tons). It consists of three arches, each 120m-long (390ft).[18] Upon its completion and inauguration in 2017, it was expected to last 100 years. At 380m-long (1,250ft), 6m-wide (20ft) and 20m-high (66ft), it was also the largest bridge ever built in East Timor.[2][3][15]
The bridge connects Citrana, Passabe and other isolated communities west of the Tono River with Pante Macassar to its east. It provides those communities with permanent access to markets, the Dili–Pante Macassar ferry and the Oecusse Airport, even during the rainy season (November to April). It also gives approximately 3,000 farmers, who cultivate more than 1,000ha (2,500 acres) of rice fields near the Tono River, superior access to the region's port at Pante Macassar.[18] Equally, it improves the ability of government agencies to deliver essential services to the formerly isolated communities, including health services, education, water supply and sanitation, and electricity distribution.[2]
West Timor is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno. Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The capital as well as its main port is Kupang. During the colonial period, the area was named Dutch Timor and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949). From 1949 to 1975 it was named Indonesian Timor.
Portuguese Timor was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day East Timor from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
In Timor-Leste, transportation is reduced due to the nation's poverty, poor transportation infrastructure.
East Timor was a province of Indonesia between 1976 and 1999, during the Indonesian occupation of the country. Its territory corresponded to the previous Portuguese Timor and to the present-day independent country of Timor-Leste.
Pante Macassar is a city in the Pante Macassar administrative post on the north coast of Timor-Leste, 152 kilometres or 94 miles to the west of Dili, the nation's capital. It has a population of 4,730. It is the capital of the Oecusse exclave.
Oecusse Airport, officially Oecusse Route of the Sandalwood International Airport, and formerly Palaban Airport, is an international airport serving Pante Macassar, the capital city of the Oecusse Special Administrative Region of East Timor.
The Tono River is the principal river of Oecusse, an exclave of Timor-Leste. The river and its major tributaries flow generally north, through the centre of the exclave, into the Savu Sea, reaching the sea near Lifau. Its alluvial flood plain in Pante Macassar administrative post is the main rice-producing place in Oecusse.
The Noel Besi River is a river flowing in the west part of Timor island and forms part of the border between the Timor-Leste exclave of Oecussi and Indonesian West Timor. It flows north into the Sawu Sea. Located 1900 km east of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
Lifau is a village and suco in the East Timor exclave of Oecusse District. The village is located west of the mouth of the Tono River. 1,938 people live in the suco.
Oecusse, also known as Oecusse-Ambeno and formerly just Ambeno, officially the Special Administrative Region Oecusse-Ambeno, is an exclave, municipality and the only special administrative region (SAR) of East Timor.
Early parliamentary elections were held in East Timor on 12 May 2018 after the National Parliament was dissolved by President Francisco Guterres on 26 January 2018.
The East Timor–Indonesia border is the international border between East Timor and Indonesia. The border consists of two non-contiguous sections totalling 253 km in length, the larger section of which divides the island of Timor in two. The demarcation of the border between Indonesia and East Timor has been fought over by various parties for 350 years. The first attempts to define it precisely were made by the colonial powers of the Netherlands and Portugal with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1859, but it was not until the Permanent Court of Arbitration's award of 25 June 1914 that the final land border between them on the island of Timor was established. It largely coincides with today's border between the state of East Timor (Timor-Leste), which only gained its final independence in 2002, and West Timor, which belongs to Indonesia, but was still disputed on some points until 2019.
Berlin Nakroma is a roll-on/roll-off passenger and cargo ferry owned and operated by the Government of East Timor since 2007. A gift to East Timor from the Federal Republic of Germany, she links Dili, capital city of East Timor, with Pante Macassar in the East Timorese exclave of Oecusse, and with Atauro Island.
Wini is a village in the Nusa Tenggara Timur province of Indonesia. It is the capital of the North Insana district of the North Central Timor Regency. It is located on the north coast of the western part of the island of Timor, between East Timor to the east and its exclave of Oecusse to the west. A major border crossing checkpoint into East Timor's exclave of Oecussi is located here.
Sacato, sometimes spelled Sakato, is a village in Timor-Leste. It is located in the suco of Nipane within the Pante Macassar Administrative Post in the Oecusse Special Administrative Region. It also the main border crossing between the East Timorese exclave of Oecusse and Indonesia.
Fort Santo António de Lifau was a Portuguese fort once built by the mouth of the Tono River, in Lifau, district of Oecusse, in East-Timor, the first fort built by the Portuguese Crown, where only forts maintained by Dominican missionaries and Portuguese merchants previously existed.
Costa is an East Timorese suco in the Pante Macassar Administrative Post of the Special Administrative Region Oecusse-Ambeno.
Richard Daschbach is an American former Roman Catholic priest who lives in Oecusse-Ambeno, the East Timorese exclave in West Timor. He ran a children's home there starting in 1991 during the Indonesian occupation. In 2018 he was the first Catholic priest in East Timor to be accused of child abuse. He was laicized and sentenced to twelve years in prison.
↑ Boxer, C. R. (1947). The Topasses of Timor. Amsterdam: Indisch Instituut te Amsterdam.
↑ Pélissier, R. (1996). Timor en guerre: Le crocodile et les portugais (1847–1913)[Timor at War: The Crocodile and the Portuguese (1847–1913)] (in French). Orgeval: Pélissier. pp.274–277, 299–301.
↑ Priyambodo, R. H. (5 November 2014). "Tiga BUMN Indonesia menang tender di Timor Leste"[Three Indonesian State Companies awarded multi-million dollar projects in Oecusse]. Antara News (in Indonesian). Antara. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
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