The Ministry of Shipping is implementing Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) initiatives at all the major ports to reduce their dwell time of vessel and cargo operations. In this regard, a tripartite agreement has been signed between the Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), Customs and M/s Smith Detection to transfer the Container Scanner assets to the Customs Department. VPA Deputy Chairman Durgesh Kumar, Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam, B.A.V. Srinivasa Rao, and MD of M/s Smith Detection Vikrant Subhash Trilokekar signed the agreement.
The installation of container scanner system is one of the major initiatives under EODB to simplify/expedite the clearance process of import container cargo at the major ports.
The Visakhapatnam Port Authority has invested ₹29.68 crore for procuring the container scanner. The Indian Ports Association (IPA) is the nodal agency, under the Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways, for procurement of Mobile X-Ray Container Scanners for major ports.
