Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) opened its new Satellite Documentation Center at the DPA facilities in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The center, inaugurated by Jamal Majid bin Thaniah, Chief Executive Officer, DPA, will provide all free zone clients, a complete range of customs and documentation services under one roof.
The documentation center, located in front of the Programme Management Office (PMO), opposite berth number 43, will deal with all types of free zone customers, shipping lines, agents, clearing and forwarding companies and private container freight station (CFS) operators. The significant increase in the volume of business handled and the substantial growth in the free zone operations created a need for this center.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, bin Thaniah said, “The documentation center is part of DPA’s expansion programme and it has been designed to maximise the efficiency of our services to all our clients. The center will operate round the clock throughout the year, providing premium service to all customers, using the state-of-the art techniques. DPA is widely recognised for its professionalism and quality of service and this center will further boost our efforts of providing valuable assistance to the free zone clients.”
The various functions of the documentation center include, collection of applicable customs duty, processing of bill of entries, collection and invoicing of port charges for containers, issuance of tokens and certificates, updating free zone container export data and collection of various administrative charges.
Professionally trained staff will man the documentation center and provide expert services to the free zone customers, ensuring that customers have their documents and payments cleared in less than two minutes.
Additionally, the documentation center is equipped with counters for checking documents, issuing vehicle clearance certificates and giving deposit refunds. The center is easily accessible to all the free zone companies and it provides ample parking and waiting facilities for customers.
“DPA’s new documentation center will prove to be extremely beneficial to all our clients, as it will lead to improved and faster service. We will continue to innovate and implement IT driven efforts to increase our overall operational excellence, which will eventually contribute to our growth,” concluded bin Thaniah.
