Lekki Port commissions scanning facility to accelerate cargo examination

By Cynthia Ezekwe.

Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) awarded the concession agreement for the development and operations of the Lekki deep sea port,  has commissioned a state-of-the-art scanning facility also known as non-intrusive inspections system to fast-track the examination and evacuation of containers from the port.

The facility was recently  commissioned by Dorothy Omogbehin,  the area controller of the Nigeria Customs Service, Lagos Free Zone Command.

Speaking during the commissioning ceremony, Omogbehin, expressed confidence that the scanning facility would significantly optimise the inspection process and increase cargo turnaround time at the port.

She  commended Lekki Port for the enormous financial investment in procuring the best-in-class facility for the port, and ensuring that the customs personnel to carry out the scanning were trained with the requisite skills to operate the state-of-the-art facility.

Du Ruogang, the managing director/chief executive officer of Lekki Port, in his opening remarks, described the facility as an essential facility that would enhance ease of doing business, facilitate trade, prevent port congestion, boost revenue generation to the government, and improve national security.

Ruogang attributed the progress recorded in the operations of the container terminal at the Port and other milestones to the tremendous support received from all stakeholders including the Nigeria Customs Service.

He noted that Lekki Port in collaboration with Lekki Freeport Terminal would continue to do its best to shape the future of container handling in Nigeria and beyond by bringing greater efficiency and greater capacity to the market.

Describing the uniqueness of the facility, Ruogang stated that the drive through inspection system of the scanning facility adopts dual-energy X-ray imaging technology to discriminate organic, inorganic, and mixed materials, which are marked with specific colours to help identify the contraband and dangerous goods concealed among cargoes or hidden in the vehicle.

According to the Lekki Port MD, the inspection system can be integrated with various auxiliary devices,including the License Plate Recognition (LPR) System and Container Code Recognition (CCR) System, to provide comprehensive information on the inspected goods.

He added that the scanner adopts the compact modular design concept for convenient relocation and seamless with other subsystems.