Supplying electricity to the whole of Timor-Leste (East Timor) was almost achieved Tuesday with the inauguration of the Betano power plant, some 90 kilometres south of Dili, said the Timorese secretary of state for Electricity.

Januario Pereira told Portuguese news agency Lusa that amongst the 13 sub-districts that had yet to receive an electricity supply, was Atauro island, which belongs to the district of Dili, and that it would be supplied with electricity via an undersea cable.

The secretary of state for Electricity added that in order to supply the Oecussi enclave with electricity a power station would be built.

The Hera power plant (opened in November 2012 to supply the north coast) and now the Betano plant, to supply the south coast, were both built by the China Nuclear Industry 22nd Construction Company (CNI22).

The contract signed in 2008, worth US$360 million, also included construction of 10 sub-stations and expansion of the power grid via new high voltage lines totalling 750 kilometres. (macauhub)