Million-dollar port upgrade project

The Barbados Port Authority Inc (BPI) is embarking on yet another project to improve its effectiveness and competitiveness as a regional and global hub.

Speaking at the launch of a Barbados Port Community System (PCS) Project this morning, Minister of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Kirk Humphrey said with the recent upgrades to the island’s main seaport he expected the country’s trading across borders ranking to be enhanced.

The PCS is intended to integrate the electronic flow of trade-related documents and information and to function as the centralized hub for the port and other stakeholders.

The estimated cost of the project is 540,258 euros or just over $1.3 million.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), through a grant from its Special Funds Resources (SFR) allocated from the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Standby Facility for Capacity Building under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), will fund 47 per cent (253,418 euros or $616, 867) of the project costs, while the BPI will provide counterpart funding of 53 per cent (286, 840 euros or $698, 599).

Barbados is only the second country in the region to undergo such a project.

Minister Humphrey said as part of efforts to improve its efficiency the BPI had already built the necessary information and communications technology architecture for the establishment of a national Maritime Single Window.

“We recognized that effective deployment of the Maritime Single Window would require a significant amount of business process simplification and re-engineering. Information technology adoption was vital, together with the application of key international standards, rationalization of trade legislation and significant collaboration between the public sector and the private sector.

“The management and oversight of this collaborative effort as you would imagine, demands a sophisticated governance effort. I am happy to say that my Government shall be introducing legislation shortly to support the full implementation of the FAL (Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic) Convention as it relates to the use of the Maritime Single Window in Barbados, for vessels trading and moving in our space,” Humphrey revealed.

“It was also recognized that there was an urgent need to improve the competitive position of our port. The Government of Barbados therefore thought it prudent to go beyond the single window with the creation of an overarching enhanced trade facilitation framework in the form of a PCS. This PCS is considered a critical infrastructural element and a reform tool for the trade facilitation architecture in Barbados. Focused on achieving seamless automation, it will support and complement on-going trade facilitation and competitiveness, enhancing reforms being implemented by the Government to address national transport and logistics constraints.”

Humphrey said once completed, Barbados would no longer languish at the bottom of the rankings in trading across border.

“Barbados ranks at a less than satisfactory 132 in the trading across borders indicator. I must tell you that this is one of the things that I hate to have to repeat and therefore this must be the last time in an official speech that we mention that Barbados ranks at a less than satisfactory 132,” Humphrey maintained.

“I know the work that is being done in the port will guarantee that this is the last time we have to speak these words in relation to Barbados’ ranking.”

Head of the delegation of the EU to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS, CARICOM and CARIFORUM, Malgorzata Wasilewska said while the PCS was integral in improving efficiency and transparency at the BPI, more still had to be done in the region.

(randybennett@barbadostoday.bb)