–upon completion of cutting-edge container scanner facility at GNIC wharf

CONSTRUCTION of a facility at the Guyana National Industrial Corporation (GNIC)’s Lombard Street wharf to accommodate the scanning of containers is reportedly moving apace.

According to a release from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the construction of the facility was agreed by way of a Memoradum of Understanding with GNIC.

GRA said that when completed, by January 2018 as anticipated, the site will enable it to utilise cutting-edge technology to scan not only imports, but also merchandise destined for foreign jurisdictions which meet the criteria for trading with some of Guyana’s major partners.
One such jurisdiction, the GRA said, is the United States, which requires universal scanning of all containers entering their territory.

The Authority says that it became somewhat limited in this capacity after the stationary scanner at the Guyana National Shipping Corporation (GNSC) wharf, also on Lombard Street, became inoperable in 2014, and the mobile x-ray imaging scanner acquired in 2014 also experienced some operational challenges during 2016.

The mobile X-ray imaging scanner will now be relocated to the GNIC facility, as will a new fixed container scanner, which is being procured through grant aid from China, and projected to become operational by mid-2018.

The acquisition of container scanners, the GRA says, is a way of complementing its efforts to reduce trade transaction costs and time, improving international competitiveness, and promoting international maritime security and safety.

In pursuit of these objectives and the estimated projected increase in container traffic, the GRA has been having ongoing discussions with wharf owners and other stakeholders about investing in such equipment so that container scanning will form part of their routine operations.