Container scanners to work 20 hours daily at ports – Customs

Facts have emerged that the much-expected container scanning machines to be deployed to the seaports would only work 20 hours of the day.

The machine, when it becomes operational, would be allowed to rest for four hours daily, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.

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NCS had in August 2021 planned to deploy over 400 scanners to the ports to quickly clear goods and reduce congestion especially in Lagos. To start this, Customs said it will deploy three scanners to the Lagos ports under the Authorized Economic Operators (AEO) scheme.

Speaking, Assistant Comptroller General of Customs on Modernisation and ICT, Saidu Galadima, said: “The essence behind the new technology is based on trade facilitation. Only compliant traders will celebrate. If you are compliant enough, you won’t have any contact with any Customs officer. Cargoes will be released without anybody needing to go to any Customs office.”

When asked how the system will work, ACG Galadima said: “On capacity, the scanners will scan 400 containers daily with four hours to rest. For every 20 feet container, the scanner will take an average of 35 seconds each to scan. For every 40ft container, the scanners will scan them at an average of 55 seconds each.”

“The scanning will be run on shifts of morning, afternoon and perhaps night, depending on the flow of business.”