SITUATED at the Lae tidal basin, ICTSI South Pacific International Container Terminal (SPICT) has been given the go-ahead by the Papua New Guinea government to begin operations.

SPICT said in a statement that it will begin the transition by immediately rolling out the terminal's new operating system, Navis N4.

ICTSI head of Asia Pacific Christian Gonzalez said: "We know the next few weeks will be a difficult transition, particularly given the quick adoption of N4 to the working environment. 

"The benefits of automating processes and information flow will accrue to each and every one of the ports users very quickly. We anticipate further benefits from delivering the MHCs [mobile harbour cranes] to the site and look forward to seeing a continuous improvement in operations at SPICT from the deployment of the TOS [terminal operating system] to achieving the first MHC move in the near term."

The Navis N4 terminal operating system is the first of its kind in PNG and is expected to "quickly streamline the flow of information at Lae's international container terminal and significantly increase seaside and landside productivity levels,?the company said. 

As part of its operational ramp up, SPICT will spend most of the coming months rolling out the systems' modules and orienting port users at Lae while handling all international cargo at the Lae tidal basin and the dedicated second berth in Lae old wharf. 

It is expected that a full and stable suite of modules will be operational and ready in time for the arrival of SPICT's mobile harbour cranes in April. 

In July 2017 ICTSI signed a 25-year terminal operations agreement with state-owned PNG Ports Corp. Ltd (PNGPCL) for the port of Lae ?the largest container handling facility in PNG.