The USAID Economic Resilience Activity (USAID ERA) has installed 14 mobile truck scales, also known as vehicle dynamic scales, at seven road crossing points (BCPs) to simplify clearance procedures for goods crossing Ukraine’s borders with Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. ERA purchased the mobile truck scales through a competitive tender from a Ukrainian company. Additionally, the company developed and deployed licensed software for car plate number recognition and data transfer at the border crossing points.
Thanks to their mobility, these scales are simple to use, easily deployed and moved to the most appropriate location at the BCP, minimizing the need to redirect trucks to stationary weighing stations. The scales are equipped with lighting, video surveillance, and screens. They can be used for a variety of vehicles and cargoes, providing flexibility in handling different weighing requirements without the need for specialized equipment. In addition, the scales are highly accurate in detecting discrepancies in cargo weight. The weighing results are available to the vehicle owner and customs officers, and the scales operate in real time, which allows data to be collected and analyzed at the BCPs.
The installation of mobile scales at border crossing points will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, which is crucial for the accurate calculation of tax revenues and preventing misdeclaration of goods, and hence fraud.
Background: USAID’s Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) is one of USAID’s core partners implementing the $350 million Agriculture Resilience Initiative – Ukraine (AGRI-Ukraine) that was established in 2022 to bolster Ukrainian agricultural exports and alleviate the global food security crisis exacerbated by the war. Under AGRI-Ukraine, ERA partners with public and private companies to complement and leverage urgently needed grain transportation and transshipment investments.
ERA also directly supports the Government of Ukraine, including Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (Ministry for Restoration), the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Agency for Restoration), the State Customs Service, and Ukrainian Railways, to upgrade 42 of Ukraine’s border crossing points (BCPs). Modern and more efficient border infrastructure and customs procedures will reduce export costs and increase export capacity, enabling Ukraine to scale trade and advance its path to EU integration.