Kathmandu, July
29: Chairman of the Kolkata Port Trust (KPT) Vinit Kumar on Sunday said that
his office was putting its utmost efforts to facilitate the mobility of Nepali
goods – both of import and export from the port.
“We are trying
to support Nepal to move its goods at the earliest. The capacity of Haldia to
the nearest railway station is being doubled and waterways and intermodal
terminal at Kalughat in Bihar is being built to cater Nepal-bound traffic from
Kolkata,” he said while speaking at the ‘24th Cargo Day’ event
organised by the Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA).
The event was
inaugurated by Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun.
At the same
time, the infrastructure at the Kolkata port is also being upgraded.
Both the
countries are holding discussions and feasibility studies to develop in-land
waterways connecting Kolkata port to Nepal.
Kumar said that
the KPT was aware of the delay that the Nepali transporters and traders were
facing at the port, and suggested that more points should be opened at the
Nepal-India border as the single entry point Raxaul-Birgunj was experiencing
high congestion due to its limited capacity.
According to
him, the KPT had asked the Indian government to consider about opening more
border points with Nepal to facilitate bulk imports.
“We are very
positive about supporting Nepali traders. About a couple of months ago, we have
designated an officer to hear grievances of Nepali traders, and a separate
Nepal corner is created in our web portal recently,” said Kumar.
President of
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Bhawani Rana
and president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Hari Bhakta Sharma
also stressed on the need for opening multiple border points with India.
“Nepal needs to
work rapidly to reduce the doing business cost, and one of the measures to do
so is facilitating the freight forwarders and opening multiple border points.
It will also help to reduce the detention and demurrage charges,” said Rana.
According to
her, the border points should be open at Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj.
Similarly, Shrama
said that due to congestions at the only border point at Raxaul-Birgunj, Nepali
traders and industrialists are forced to pay four-times high cost and the
transportation of goods took about seven times more period.
He urged the
government to sign a railway agreement with India and facilitate the movement
of goods directly from Kolkata port to Janakpur, Birgunj or any other cities in
Nepal.
President of
NEFFA Prakash Singh Karki urged the government to reduce the logistics cost of
the freight forwarders as the cost is higher than the neighbouring countries.
“Nepali
container trucks and trailers should be allowed from Kolkata port to Nepal
border, and Nepali freight forwarders should be provided with customs discount
in such vehicles. It will create competition with Indian transport
competition,” he said.
Secretary of
Commerce Chandra Kumar Ghimire said that the government was positive about
opening multiple border points with both the neighbours – India and China, and
the talks were underway for the same.
After making the
Birgunj Integrated Check Post (ICP) operational, the government had initiated
the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of ICP at Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj and study
for ICP in Chandani Dodhara will begin soon.
Similarly, Yari,
Kimathanka, Mustang and Tatopani border points with China are being studied to
open. Tatopani was the major trade route between Nepal and China, but the
devastating earthquake in 2015 destroyed the infrastructure there, including
the roads and bridges.
As China is rebuilding
the infrastructure, Nepal is hopeful that the Tatopani border will open by next
year.
The NEFFA
felicitated Oriental Cargo Service’s Padam Prasad Pokharel and Consul General
of Consulate of Nepal at Kolkata Ek Narayan Aryal with NEFFA Annual Award 2018,
and FNCCI Province -3 Chairman Dinesh Shreatha and Executive Director of Nepal
Intermodal Transportation Development Board Laxman Bahadur Basnet with Letter
of Appreciation and Appreciation respectively.
Likewise, Cathy
Dragon, Thai Air and Qatar Airlines received awards as the first, second and
third highest cargo uplift from Nepal in 2017 in the online airlines category.
Emirates Sky Cargo received the highest cargo uplift from offline airlines.
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