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The government of India, buoyed by positive reports on gate automation at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, is looking to set up radio-frequency identification, or RFID, technology for gate operations at other major public ports in the country.
Of the other port trusts, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin and Paradip have already awarded contracts for the procurement of new gate systems following competitive tender procedures.
All the ports are expected to complete this process by the end of this year, an official statement said.
The automation drive is one of several “ease of doing business initiatives that the Ministry of Shipping and other authorities have implemented during the past year to alleviate congestion and reduce wait times at gateway ports. In its last World Bank survey, India ranked 130th out of 189 nations in the ease of doing business.
To improve trade services, major port authorities have been told to automate all cargo processes, encourage shippers to use direct port delivery services for the clearance of import freight, apply much lower terminal charges for traffic handled during non-peak hours, deploy more container scanners to speed up cargo flows, allocate dedicated parking lots to smooth drayage operations and improve port roadways.
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