The international Niirala-Värtsilä border crossing point was being improved to meet the needs created by increased traffic volumes. The project was intended to improve the flow of traffic as well as the efficiency of officials by installing a pattern recognition system at the Niirala border crossing point in order to recognise vehicle licence plates and numbers (for example, container numbers). The information system would be able to produce sufficient real-time information on vehicles, which would improve control efficiency and safety, for example. 50 percent of the project funding was received from the European Regional Development fund and 50 percent from the National Board of Customs. Achievements: The project improved the Niirala border crossing point as planned by purchasing and installing a pattern recognition system at the border crossing point in order to recognise the licence plates and containers on vehicles crossing the border. The recognition system can be used to efficiently monitor traffic crossing the border as well as to target operations using advance information and risk analysis. The project was a follow-up project to the Niirala border station development project.