Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — The leadership of WebFountain has said the Cotonou Port in Benin Republic is ahead of Nigeria’s ports because the Cotonou port adopted a Single Window port system with a creation of a Port Community System, PCS.
WebFountain is a global information technology company specializing in building electronic platform that interconnects port operations with all stakeholders in the cargo clearing value chain.
Speaking at the just-concluded Nigerian Ports and Trade Investment 2023 Forum, Mr. Tankian Coulibaly, Director of Operations, WebFountain Benin Republic, said the PCS connects virtually all the stakeholders in both the arrival and clearance of the cargo at the port.
Coulibaly also said the PCS involves the terminal operators, the Banks, the Customs management of Benin, the Port Authority, the shipping companies and other stakeholders involved in the treatment of the cargo.
He explained that WebFountain was contracted to modernize the Customs in Benin by upgrading the old platform of Automated System for Customs Data, ASYCUDA, to a single window.
Coulibaly further explained that WebFountain had to de-materialize all the processes of cargo clearance and interconnect with all the stakeholders.
He said: “The introduction of Single Window into the Cotonou Port has changed the lives of the people and the way they transact their businesses and trade.
“Because of the introduction of the Single Window in Benin, the Covid-19 pandemic had little or no effect on the trading activities at the Port of Cotonou because we were used to doing things and transacting business.
“So when the lock down came in, people were not really affected. From the documentation which is done online to payment which is also done online, the only you need to be physically present at the port is when you to take delivery of your cargo so the Single Window it has been very effective.
“The PCS which is within the Single Window, and there is E-payment, cargo documentation and other aspects that are within the Single Window’’.
