Port of Beirut Authorities has constructed a networking platform powered by the latest technologies from Cisco Systems, a leader in networking for the Internet. The system will create new levels of interoffice communications between the three major departments of the port: the administration building, customs and the new terminal container operator. This installation is part of an ambitious plan adopted by the Lebanese government to increase work efficiency at Beirut port and to stimulate its development as a major trading hub for the Levant region.
"Goods moving in and out of any country are the life-blood of the economy. The Lebanese government is investing in this strategic gateway by introducing the most modern networking technologies available," said Fady Tayah, networking systems manager for Port of Beirut Authorities. "Creating reliable communication channels between the three main sectors of the port will insure a swift and reliable exchange of information. As we computerise systems, we can really speed up our ability to clear goods as we remove manual data re-entry procedures, and reduce paperwork."
Previously, none of the buildings in the port were interconnected via anything other than phone lines. The construction of the new administration, customs and warehousing buildings allowed an entirely new networking system to be designed to fit the needs of the port for absolutely robust operation, with completely secure data transmission. "The Port of Beirut Authorities has taken a major step forward as Lebanon's government starts to adapt its systems to the new e-Economy," said Mohammed Abdul Malak, Levant regional manager for Cisco Systems Middle East. "Decision-makers in organisations such as the Beirut port are taking information technology very seriously. Today, efficient information systems make the difference between being attractive as a trading partner, and being relegated to second place. This understanding of the fundamental importance of information networks was very clear right from the port's new building's blueprints." BMB Lebanon is the Cisco premier certified partner that supplied and installed the port with the networking equipment. "The network platform backbone is based on Cisco Catalyst 6509 multilayer switches. These have an enormous 256Gbps backplane to allow the Port to cater for future growth, and to implement bandwidth-intensive applications such as voice and video in the future," said Simon Samia, Director of BMB. "This kind of high-capacity switched network is extremely reliable, and scales very well to match the needs of different departments of the authority."
"Before the modernisation project, we had a number of stand-alone local area networks connecting a limited number of users in different locations. It was too slow - as time passed the workload increased steadily, and the old systems could not provide us with the bandwidth we needed to keep the port working swiftly," added Tayah. "Simply cutting down on the use of hard copies to exchange data will make a massive difference to our efficiencies and accuracy, especially when this is combined with our new abilities to automate task processing. With the volume of operations we have to complete 24 hours a day, seven days a week, saving even one second in a task lets us get so much more done."
As part of its modernization programme, Beirut Port Authorities is undertaking an infrastructure update, extension and construction of a new container terminal that will increase the stocking area and the TEU traffic. This will allow Beirut Port to confirm its hub and transit role in the Middle East area especially for Arab countries and as a transshipment hub for the Mediterranean countries. BMB, established since 1996, provides services in security, LAN, and WAN turnkey solutions.
The company has provided a variety of solutions to a wide range of companies: banks and health-care, manufacturing and retail organisations. It received the Premier Partner Excellence award for outstanding and technical innovation to customers in the Middle east region in the year 2000.
Meanwhile, Beirut Port recently announced that it would reduce handling charges on industrial produce and raw materials for export by 50 per cent.
