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New box scanners aim to promote efficiency at Colombo
POSTED: 9:54 a.m. EDT, March 21,2007
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CONTAINERS at the port of Colombo will be scanned using new technology in a bid to accelerate customs clearance and boost customs revenue by attracting more ships.
The equipment installed by Sri Lanka Customs is designed to help officers identify goods inside a container without opening or unloading the boxes, said a report in the Colombo Daily News.
The government spent US$15 million on installing the four scanning machines at the port, comprising two machines for scanning imported boxes and two for exports, up from one machine at present.
The manual checking, loading and unloading of containers requires more time and incurs higher labour costs. "We are negotiating with the Sri Lanka Port Authority to develop a site in the container yard to install the other two machines to monitor export containers," said Sri Lanka customs chief Sarath Jayathileke. "This costs less. It is also a less time consuming method of clearing containers."
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