The State Secretariat for Vocational Training and Employment (SEPFOPE) has begun a project to rehabilitate tourism sites.
Secretary of State (SE) Ilidio Ximenes da Costa said the tourism industry could provide a solid income for the state and would attract investors to Timor-Leste.
Four tourism sites would be rehabilitated with work already begun on the first site, Seloi Kraik in Aileu.
Other sites to be revamped include Com, in Lautem, and Mota Bandeira and Marobo hot springs in Bobonaro.
More than $90 million would be allocated to the project which will include the construction of buildings and gardens to encourage tourists to visit.
SE Ximenes said the investment in tourism infrastructure would allow the government to diversify its revenue base from its traditional sources – oil, telecommunications and hospitality.
Commission D (economy and development) president Jacinta Abucau Pereira said SEPFOPE had a responsibility to revamp the tourist drawcards as well as improve rural roads.
“It is important because SEPFOPE has a mandate to develop community tourism,” she said
She said by taking control of the project, SEPFOPE was not stepping on the Ministry of Tourism’s toes as the separation between the two bodies’ responsibilities was clearly set out in law.
