International trade corridors: Pakistan begins installing RMPs to secure borders

KARACHI: Pakistan has begun installing Radiation Monitoring Portals (RMPs) at all international trade corridors to avert the smuggling of nuclear materials. This information was disclosed by Dr Rehmatullah, the first Director of the newly-established National Nuclear Detection Architecture (NNDA).

“The decision to establish NNDA at all international trade corridors was made after the recent Indian propaganda regarding the seizure of a potentially radioactive consignment from a vessel that originated from Pakistan,” Dr Rehmatullah said.

“The government is very serious about securing its borders from smuggling of nuclear materials, especially after opening the Central Asia trade corridor. Therefore, the installation of radiation detection equipment is being made to avert all possibilities of nuclear material smuggling, he added."

The RMPs will monitor the movement of nuclear material and detect any radioactive traces left behind by smugglers who try to circumvent them.

Earlier, the MoU signing ceremony between the Directorate of Transit Trade and the representatives of all terminals for scanners’ installation was held at the Customs House, Karachi.

Dr Rehmatullah, who is also serving as the director in Directorate of Transit Trade, said the MoU aimed to install single view scanners at the ports and airports of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.

The project cost is $31 million, funded by the World Bank. He said that in the first phase, scanners would be installed at South Asia Port Terminal (SAPT) and the Karachi airport by October this year, and it would be run as a pilot project for three months. After that, the scanners would be rolled out to QICT, PICT, KICT, Islamabad, and Lahore dry and airports.

He said that after installing these scanners, the clearance time would be reduced from five days to hours as these advanced scanners could scan 120 to 150 containers per hour.

Replying to a question, he ruled out the possibilities of human interaction and misuse of the scanners, saying that the department had evolved a mechanism where no scanning officer would have access to any relevant information to ensure transparency in the clearance process through scanners. Furthermore, he said that new appointments would be made for this project, and these officers would be given incentives and special training to operate the scanners.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022