Kathmandu, Nov. 22
Nepal Intermodal Transport
Development Board (NITDB) has awarded the management and operation
responsibility of the Chobhar Dry Port, the only dry port in the country away
from the border points, to the TransNepal Freight Services JV, Biratnagar for
the next five years.
The company is the joint venture of
the TrnasNepal Freight Services Pvt. Ltd. Nepal and TRS Lift and Shift Services
Pvt. Ltd. of India. It will operate the facility at the cost of Rs. 28.8
million for five years on revenue sharing model.
According to Ashish Gajurel,
Executive Director of the NITDB, it’s a kind of arrangement in line with the
Public Private Partnership (PPP). if the revenue goes above the set amount,
there would be a revenue sharing of 60-40 per cent where the NITDB would be
entitled of 40 per cent of the revenue.
He said that the NITDB can't
operate the facility according to its own regulations. It has been operating
the Chobhar Dry Port as per stop-gap arrangement for two years as the company
couldn't forecast the traffic flow to the port. Other six dry ports have also
been operated by the private sector.
Gajurel stated that the dry port
cannot be operational until the Kathmandu Terai Expressway is ready. "There
is a clear provision that the management and operation of the dry port must be
carried out through a company selected through a competitive system according
to the current Terminal Leasing Regulation, 2070, so the selected company is
tasked to operate on lease for five years in the Public Private Partnership
(PPP) model, said Gajurel.
No comments:
Post a Comment