Nepal to make headway in bulk cargo movement

Kathmandu, Nov. 26

Nepal is likely to transform its transhipment system in a way it will help promote the country's export trade and reduce the cost of trade with the operation of inland waterways system and ease the bulk cargo movement.


A two-day bilateral meeting between Nepal and India to review the Transit Treaty that started on Tuesday in the Capital has given a positive signal for the operation of inland waterways to transport goods from Kolkata Port to three different river ports in India near Nepal border.


The meeting has technically resolved the issues of inland waterways, allowing Nepali importers to change the freight destination point at the Nepal-India border, said Navaraj Dhakal, Joint Secretary of Bilateral and Regional Trade Division at the Ministry Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS).


Dhakal is leading a nine-member Nepali delegation in the meeting. Joint-Secretary of the Commerce and Industry Ministry of India Bhupinder Singh Bhalla is leading an eight-member delegation.

"India has almost agreed to provide waterways facilities up to Shahebgunj, Kalughat and Varanasi from Kolkata Port. The discussions were very positive and encouraging," he told The Rising Nepal. 


Once the two countries sign the agreement on Wednesday, Nepal's dream to use waterways to transport cargo and operate its own ships will be materialised in near future.


Transhipment is the transportation of goods or containers to intermediate and then to another destination, sometimes by changing the means of transport as well.


Nepal is bearing the brunt of high logistic cost in the transit transport of goods, both in export and import. Past studies have shown that the cost of Nepali export goods is about 15 per cent higher than the neighbouring countries. But if the new deal was signed with the southern neighbour, the transportation cost would go down by almost a half.


Connectivity has been a topmost agenda in Nepal-India bilateral meetings and bilateral cooperation framework.


Dhakal said that the Tuesday's meeting was a kind of a 'break-through' in terms of inland waterways. The meeting will finalise the modality of operating ships such as running them, and issuing permits. However, there were no discussions about the use of waterways from the three designated river ports to Nepal.


Nepali traders should use land route to transport goods from Shahebgunj, Kalughat and Varanasi.

Similarly, the two sides have agreed to allow the movement of bulk cargo through the Bhairahawa-Sunauli border. According to Dhakal, Nepal will have the facility of bulk cargo movement for the goods like cement, coal and chemical fertilisers.


Earlier, in August this year, Special Secretary (Logistics) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India N. Sivasailam had assured that India would soon allow Nepali importers to change the freight destination point at the Nepal-India border.


The meeting will also discuss about Nepal's access to Dhamra, Odisha and Mundra, Gujrat ports, which India had allowed Nepal to use. Other issues like electronic cargo tracking, diversification of railway points in Nepal and trade facilitation measures will also be deliberated in the meeting.

The agreements will be implemented after the cabinets endorse them. 


Nepal and India had signed the Transit Treaty in 1978. The treaty was renewed in 2013 although it has a provision to renew automatically. The two countries review the treaty to incorporate the latest issues and address the problems in bilateral trade.


Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 27 November 2019.