Our plan is to have these systems operational in the next six months,” said Amiya Chandra. (Representational)

In an attempt to bring down waiting time at entry gates and to prevent theft of goods, the Kandla Special Economic Zone (KASEZ), country’s first SEZ, has decided to introduce face-recognition technology for people working in the zone as well as GPS tracking system for vehicles transporting goods.

Addressing a press conference, Amiya Chandra, development commissioner of KASEZ, said that around 27,000 people and 1,000 trucks move in and out of KASEZ through two gates of the zone every day. These people working in around 255 export-oriented units inside the zone are issued gatepasses, which are authenticated manually. Similar is the mode authentication of movement of goods carriages. But the manual process of authentication leads to long queues of people and vehicles at the entry gates, Chandra said.

“To cut down the waiting time, we have decided to deploy face-recognition technology for digital authentication of identity and introduce GPS tracking of trucks. These systems would reduce the authentication time to just two seconds for people and three to four minutes for lorries,” the DC said, adding KASEZ has invited expressions of interest from private vendors providing these technological solutions.

“Our plan is to have these systems operational in the next six months,” said Chandra. Around 50 CCTV cameras installed in the zone would allow real-time tracking of authorised persons within the zone as well as identify unauthorised persons entering the zone. The system will also track movement of vehicles. “Theft of goods and solar lighting equipment on roads inside the zone are major issues. The surveillance system would scan cargo being transported in tankers and containers through sensors and video footage. The GPS tracking of lorries would enable us to prevent any theft of goods in transit from port to to KASEZ,” said Chandra.

Chandra, who is also chairman of Kandla SEZ Authority which manages KASEZ, said that there are 108 security guards who keep a watch in the zone. “But the level of vigil at night remains low as there are no facilities for guards. Therefore, we have decided to construct a 125-bed hostel for security guards. We will also construct a third entry gate,” he added. The DC added that KASEZ had requested the Deendayal Port Trust (DPT) to allow its land near KASEZ gates to be used as parking lots.

The correspondent was in Gandhidhamon the invitation of KASEZ