The port is located on the western side of Tibar Bay, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Dili.

[1] In June 2016, the government of Timor-Leste signed an agreement with the Bolloré Group to build and operate a new container port at Tibar Bay.

[1] The greenfield project was intended to replace the existing, capacity-strained and congestion-ridden container handling facilities at the Port of Dili.

[1][3] Subsequently, Bolloré Group contracted with China Harbour Engineering Company to construct the new port.

[5] As of 2022, Tibar Bay and the Port of Dili were the only places in Timor-Leste where dredging at significant scale had ever been carried out.

The project manager therefore asked the government to authorize a special flight from Guangzhou in China directly to Dili, to carry 186 workers, so that the works can be completed according to the revised plan.

[8] Shortly before the port went into operation, the president of its board of directors, Laurent Palayer, claimed to Lusa News Agency that the near-monopoly container operator in the country, Meratus Line [translation]: "... have been working in a niche market, without competition, with high profit margins.

In practice, they will save money: less waiting time, less time in port and the ability to bring in larger ships,"[11]Mobile equipment at Tibar Bay Port includes two ship-to-shore (STS) gantries, four rubber-tyred gantries (RTGs), 10 terminal tractors and 16 trailers.

[13] At 80 m (260 ft) high, the STS gantries are Timor-Leste's tallest structures, and, as the port's most visible element, dominate its landscape.