PROJECT OVERVIEW

Barbados Port Inc. is implementing the “Barbados Port Community System Project.” This is a €540,258 project, partially financed by the European Union and supervised by the Caribbean Development Bank to design and implement a Port Community System (PCS) at the Port of Bridgetown. The project which is scheduled to be completed in 2023 supports the creation of an online system accessible to clients of the port and various state agencies involved in the processing and clearance of cargo (PCS). It will introduce a paperless process making interoperable the systems of organisations involved in processing shipments at the port. Greater efficiency, a reduction in operating costs and a more sustainable approach to management of port operations will be enabled.

Project Benefits:

Supported by external consultants at the Organisation of American States (OAS) and in collaboration with the port stakeholders, some of the expected outcomes included:

• Increased efficiency enabling enhanced trade competitiveness.
• Reduced cost of imports and goods to local consumers due the reduced time and costs associated with processing cargo.
• Easy and efficient electronic data interchange among state agencies and clients of the port.
• The electronic handling of all information regarding clearance of containerised, general and bulk cargo.
• Real time access to information for control, tracking and tracing through the logistics chain.
• Improved administration, recording, monitoring, reporting, analysis of data using the platform.
• Improved documentary conformity through simplification, standardisation, rationalisation (reducing paperwork) and harmonisation of clearance processes and procedures
• Information sharing between trade actors through a single platform.

EPA and CSME Standby Facility

The Barbados PCS Project was approved for implementation by the EPA and CSME Standby Facility Steering Committee in 2020. The EPA and CSME Standby Facility (also known as the CARIFORUM-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Standby Facility for Capacity Building) is a €8.75 million programme financed by the European Development Fund (EDF) and managed by CDB to support projects in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago (CARIFORUM). It is intended to build capacity in the region and better position businesses to trade within CARIFORUM and the European Union.