The X-ray technology installed in Puerto Río Haina this Tuesday puts the Dominican Republic on a par with other countries using these systems to scan their containers in less time and accelerate international trade, such as the United States, Puerto Rico, Argentina , Mexico, Colombia and Chile.
This equipment, which was donated to the state by the company HIT, the port operator that manages and develops the port of Río Haina, will bring the country closer to the goal of becoming a logistics hub in the region.
The Director of the General Customs Directorate (DGA), Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, explained that the installation of this tool has the capacity to scan more than 100 containers per hour, and to distinguish organic materials from metals through the use of the technology of dual energy.
This high-tech equipment that can scan the containers without the trucks stopping their march had a $ 3 million investment from HIT.
The Director of Customs Technology, Daniel Peña, indicated that during image analysis, the equipment also automatically downloads the information from the container’s contents to compare it with the displayed cargo contents.
“Without a doubt, with the installation of this equipment in the important port of Haina, we are setting our country in the global standard, we are taking solid steps towards achieving our goals of shipping goods within 24 hours, but also to to realize the long-awaited dream of the Dominican Republic becoming the region’s logistics hub, ”said Peña.
How does it work?
Peña explained that all rigorous measures are already being considered for their installation, in an area with limited inspection, that will meet national and international radiation safety standards for both train drivers and truck drivers.
In addition, he pointed out that the team will have a radar that can identify where the truck cabin ends and the container begins, so it will only emit radiation when the truck cabin is sure to have finished passing the beam. X.
For HIT President Erick Alma, believed that the country has the great challenge of becoming the logistics center of the region, “but to achieve this we need to row in the same direction and donate all (…) to customs have high-tech X-ray equipment, which would shorten the residence time of the containers, which is an advantage ”.
Port operations of Rio Haina
The authorities emphasized the value of this technological equipment as the port of Haina is essential for the Dominican Republic as it was only closed in 2019 with a total traffic of 441,000 teus (standardized size of 20-foot containers), which is an average per day of 1,208 teus.
This port terminal also handled more than 6.3 million tons of loose general cargo, including billets, bars, timber, grains and others. For example, it recorded a transit of 1,627 vessels, an average of 31 weekly visits in 2019.
The port contributes 38% to Dominican customs collections.