 The World Bank-funded OECS Regional Tourism Competitiveness Project, ORTCP, is being implemented in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia, with one of the key objectives being the facilitation of the movement of tourists within the participating countries using ferries. It is against its background that a request by the Customs and Excise Department to the Administrative Tourism was fulfilled under the ORTCP. Project Manager Dr Lorraine Nicholas noted the importance of the ferry terminal to St. Lucia's tourism travel sector. The number of passengers using the ferry service had increased over the years and that the baggage counter will equip customs officials with an essential tool to inspect customer baggage in a fast and efficient manner. The scanner will allow the detection of illegal weapons and other items in much more efficient manner than human intervention. Also, the scanner can be used to scan many pieces of luggage quickly, improving the speed at which passengers are processed. So we are very pleased that we were able to contribute to expediting the passenger clearance process here at the ferry terminal. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Information Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, Donald Invite, says the ferry terminal plays an integral role in the Caribbean travel markets, particularly Martinique, Guadalupe and Dominica. And as such, outfitting the facility of the necessary technology and infrastructure will serve the industry well. Over the past two years, there's been significant upgrade in the product at the ferry terminal. But of course, we know with regards to the physical upgrade, there must be a level of infrastructure upgrade to support that with ICT. Customs, they are very dear to our heart as officers of the government service. And we know the sort of strive they have been under at this ferry terminal with the volume of baggage that normally comes with the visitors and our returning nationals and how they have been able to process. Out of our OECS Regional Tourism Competitiveness Project, one of the things for the Ministry was to critically assess within the services that are provided within the castries basin especially how we could improve those services and at the same time maintain customer satisfaction at the fore. So for us, working with customs, it was a no-brainer to identify the needs of the ferry terminal and to be able to upgrade it with the infrastructure, the technology that is required to support the human resources already given by government. Acting Comptroller of Customs, Peter Chico welcomed the baggage scanner, indicating that the use of technology would improve the department's risk management capabilities. St. Lucia Customs and Excise Department has been calling for scanners and non-intuitive technology equipment for quite some time, particularly when it relates to the examination of passengers and passenger baggage. I am certain that this donation from your ministry will go a long way in helping the customs department meet its mandate to examine clear passengers, provide that quality service that is always expected of the customs and Excise Department. The customs officers received training in the use of the baggage scanner by the Director of Technical Services at Sextus Technologies and a baggage carousel has also been provided and will be installed at the ferry terminal. From the Government Information Service, Lisa Joseph reporting.