24 May 2004	Monday	04 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 23: The government has approved a project worth over $5 million to install six containers screening machines at the customs ports for checking imported goods as well as those being exported to meet the demand of the Western countries.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that the Western countries, particularly the US, had recently asked Islamabad to install screening machines at all its ports for screening all goods to avoid any possible export of life-threatening goods. The cost on the installation of a single container screening machine was estimated to be $0.9 million.

To meet the demand, the sources said, the government had granted the contract to the National Logistics Cell (NLC) to install and operate these machines at all the ports.

According to the sources, the NLC would import the machines from China, of which one would be installed at Port Qasim, two at Karachi Port (East and West Wharf) and one each at dry ports of Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.

The NLC is currently negotiating the cost of the machines with a Chinese firm. The sources said the screening machines were mostly to be used on exporting goods as per conditions set by the Western countries, which was believed to be yet another non-tariff barriers to make Pakistani goods less competitive in the international markets.

According to the sources, this condition would cause an additional cost for exporters who have to pay around $5 for the clearance of a 20 feet container and around $10 for a container of 40 feet.

This additional expenditure would have a negative impact on the country's exporters who were already facing non- tariff barriers at the ports of exporting countries.

However, officials said these machines would not only eliminate the need to open and examine containers manually but would also help release their containers quickly. Currently, on average the clearance of containers from berth to exit gate take around eight days.