Main Investment Cost
Main Investment Cost
Land & Utilities
Land
Timor-Leste land area is approx.15.000 km2 of which 10% is arable land. There are a range of regulations regarding the purchase/rent of land in Timor-Leste and these regulations are continually reviewed as the country develops.
Government owned land may be leased and involves lodging an application to the Land and Property Office (DNTPSC). Duration of lease agreements are typically between 3 and 50 years depending on the investment proposal submitted to TradeInvest. The lease is renewable up to 150 years depending on a range of criteria.
There are no Real Estate Agents in Timor-Leste so searching for privately owned land and property requires some local knowledge. Privately owned land requires direct negotiation with the land owner.
Typical land prices in Timor-Leste are shown below:
| Zone | Timorese Business (per m2) | Foreign Business (per m2) |
| 1 (Dili) | $1 | $1.80 |
| 2 (Dili) | $0.5-$0.65 | $1 |
| 3 (Dili) | $0.25-$0.5 | $0.65-$0.75 |
| 4 (Municipalities) | $0.10 | $0.25 |
Access to land in Timor-Leste for foreign investors can be summarised as follows:
| Access to Land | State Property | Private Property | Communal Land |
| Can a foreign citizen buy? | No | No | No |
| Can a foreign legal entity buy? | No | No | No |
| Can a foreign citizen lease? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can a foreign legal entity lease? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Utilities
Cost of electricity supply to commercial users is approx. US 24 Cents/kwh.
Cost of water supply to commercial users is approx. US 60 Cents/1.000 litres.
According to World Bank (2020) 86% of population in Timor-Leste territory have accessed to the electricity where Timor-Leste is performing better than some of its regional peers. In Timor-Leste, 100% of urban population have used the electricity, while about 80% of rural population accessed to electricity.
For more details on Timor-Leste land and utilities download TradeInvest’s factsheet: https://www.tradeinvest.tl/node/files/Factsheets/06_Factsheet_Land.pdf