NPA to test-drive electronic portal in PE

September launch planned
JOY ORLEK
SEPTEMBER this year will see the launch by National Ports Authority of a pilot electronic portal under the ‘Portlink’ banner.
The project will be introduced in Port Elizabeth to be followed by a full national roll-out in October.
The portal will be accessible to all NPA clients, enabling them to submit their cargo dues electronically, submit all documents like manifests, turnout reports and the like, as well as track their vessels and establish the status of their cargo.
At this stage NPA expects to be able to accept payment electronically when the system goes live. “For us to bill the customer is where the challenge comes in, so we will only release cargo once the money has been deposited in our account,” says NPA’s trade and logistics GM Nisha Jones.
If there are still revenue recovery issues when the system goes live, manual processes will continue until all problems have been resolved.
While a similar system in Singapore was used as a benchmark, Portlink has been developed in South Africa.