Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace

When Timor-Leste resumed independence in May 2002, the new President, Xanana Gusmão, considered that he needed to have a presidential office discrete from the one occupied by the Constitutional Government, then headed by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.^[1][2] Gusmão therefore set up a separate presidential office in a burned-out building, which he named the Palácio das Cinzas (transl. Palace of Ashes).^[2]

However, the President did not also intend that this makeshift and unconventional office arrangement would be permanent. By 2003, plans had already been drawn up for a more comfortable palace, and the Chinese government had offered to help fund its construction.^[3][4][5]

The foundation-laying ceremony for the new palace was held on 2 July 2007. At that time, its intended name was "Palace of Hope" (Portuguese: Palácio da Esperança); the then Chinese ambassador to Timor-Leste, Su Jian, said that the name marked the youngest country embracing challenges and marching towards a bright future.^[6]

During the twilight years of the Portuguese colonial era, the land where the palace now stands was the site of Dili's first airport,^[7] which was later transformed into a heliport. As of July 2007, the site was still being used as a helicopter base, by the Australian-led Operation Astute stabilisation force. Construction of the palace began that year,^[8] after the Australians moved out.^[6]

The palace was designed, built and furnished by the government of China, with almost no Timorese involvement.^[8] The building work was completed in April 2009.^[9] The construction cost, funded by Chinese aid, has been said to be US$6 million^[10] and US$7 million.^[8] The palace was inaugurated on 27 August 2009. Three days later, on 30 August 2009, the then President of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, announced that it had been named Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace.^[11][12]

Since its inauguration, the palace and the grounds surrounding it have been affected by flooding on several occasions, including in March 2020^[13] and April 2021.^[14]

In April 2015, a Portuguese architectural firm, Gonçalo Lencastre Arquitectos, announced a project intended to "endow the Presidency of the Republic of Timor-Leste with a physical space with the necessary dignity and functionality", by upgrading and expanding existing structures, including the palace complex. The firm had won a worldwide competition for the project, which encompassed works valued at more than € 20 million.^[12][15][16]

The project included a new Presidential Residence and Museum of the Presidency, as well as a military barracks, a Military House and other buildings. One of the architects involved in the project, Cristina Picoto, explained that the buildings would all be 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) off the ground to avoid flooding, and were not intended to be "monumental in scale". Speaking at the project's announcement, the then Chief of Staff of the President, Fidélis Magalhães, said that its execution would be phased, with a multi-annual plan of 10 or 20 years, depending on budgetary capacity.^[17]