It is my distinct honour to stand before you today at this landmark event—the commissioning of state-of-the-art Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) scanners at the Port of Port of Spain. This event confirms the Government’s commitment to strengthening national security, enhancing trade facilitation, and ensuring efficiency in our port operations.

With more than 300,000 containers passing through the Port of Port-of-Spain, the smuggling of illegal items is a significant National Security concern. In response, the Government has taken a proactive approach by acquiring specialized equipment in accordance with the highest international standards to combat this threat.

The procurement process for these new Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) systems to strengthen the Customs & Excise Division’s border security operations began in 2023. This entailed a comprehensive assessment of the required specifications and design of the request for proposals, followed by a rigorous evaluation of proposals from prospective suppliers as well as overseas site visits to assess this highly rated inspection equipment in actual operation at international commercial ports.

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