Siterman: pilot will keep Haifa Port container terminal open 24 hours

The program aims to divert the movement of 300 containers at Haifa Port from daytime to nighttime
 
Ministry of Transport director general, Gideon Siterman, announced last week that a new port pilot had commenced which would keep the container terminal at Haifa Port operating 24 hours a day. In a statement issued by the ministry it was noted that the pilot call for the container terminal to be open as from Sunday through Friday afternoon, instead of the current 12 hour workdays.
 
The pilot program was designed by the Ministry of Transport and Israel Ports Development & Assets Company Ltd.
 
The program aims to divert the movement of 300 containers at Haifa Port from daytime to nighttime, which will reduce heavy congestion at the port gates and increase the port and trucks' output throughout the day.
 
The government will provide NIS 1 million in aid under the pilot program and provide financial incentives, such as reduced fees for customers who move cargo at night.
 
Three container terminals which store empty containers in the proximity of the port will operate during the night and four transport companies had announced that they will participate in the pilot. It is understood that some 20 companies, exporters and importers, had signed up to move their cargos at night