The Port Authority is going digital. They held a stakeholders workshop today where they, in partnership with the World Bank, presented the roadmap and strategy for the digitization process. The Acting Ports Commissioner explained more about this project, while the Lead Transport Specialist at the World Bank explained how this initiative could lead to reduced cost of imports.
Darlin Gaitan, Acting Port Commissioner
"We're having a workshop along with the World Bank and basically what we're going to do is put forward our strategy for Port digitalization and what that means is digitalizing processes at the Port so our processes are more efficient and we're able to serve the customer better at the Port sector."
"We have within the strategy various users that will benefit from it, not just the regulatory bodies in terms of being more efficient in how we conduct ourselves but also the end user because everything that we do is tied to cost so the more efficient your process is, the less cost it is and the more we hope that it's going to promote trade within the Belizean economy."
Gylfi Palsson, Lead Transport Specialist, World Bank
"The analytical study and the preparation of a strategy and the roadmap was financed by the World Bank through a grant facility and the author is actually at the current moment making a presentation of his findings and recommendations on the way forward. So in addition to doing the study, we agreed with the Port Authority that there would be a workshop so as to ensure that the different stakeholders in the Ports would be involved and have a full knowledge of what is being presented."
"It's a multi-pronged approach actually so there are various recommendations that are being made related to digitalization of the industry, of the port sector in general, with the particular aim of reducing and assisting actually, let me phrase it that way, trade and transport facilitation, reducing the cost of the inputs, by extension reducing cost of imports and creating a better opportunity for export from the country."
The strategy is expected to be fully implemented in 2026.
