By Mike Jarrett

“The workforce is very dedicated and motivated.”

Suriname Ports Management Company (SPMC) has approved plans for wide-ranging improvements at Suriname’s main port.

Plans include upgrading of port security, including replacement of the present camera system. Documentation technology is also to be upgraded, and the port facility at New Nickerie (in the west) is to be rehabilitated. In addition, plans are being drafted for the establishment of a logistics centre and industrial zone. 

Meanwhile, the SPMC is planning to dredge the area in front of the main quay at Paramaribo later this year. The port at Suriname has been steadily improving operational efficiency. Recent initiatives to reduce the time it takes for documentation processing for receipt or delivery of cargo (i.e., ‘gate time’) and ‘waiting time’ (i.e., the time it takes for truckers to load or discharge cargo) have so far yielded impressive results.

Although this time-saving initiative is still in its pilot phase, gate time has already been reduced by 50%, from one hour to 30 minutes. Wait time for truckers has also been drastically reduced, from three hours to approximately one hour.

The results of this project have been very encouraging for both the landlord SPMC and the terminals operators. The Chief Executive Officer of the SPMC, Andreas Talea, described the early positive results as ‘fruitful.’ He said that training of the workforce was now considered an ‘on-going process’ and that the results were increasingly evident.

“The workforce is very dedicated and motivated,” he said.

The SPMC reported improvement at Suriname’s main port last year. Although the port handled fewer ships than in the previous year, cargo volume increased by 20% in 2017.