Kathmandu, Jun. 4
The removal of trees and poles at the
construction site of the Dodhara Chandani Integrated Check Post (ICP) and Dry
Port is in its final stage and construction is expected to begin soon, Nepal
Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITDB) said.
This national priority project is located
in Dodhara Chandani Municipality-1 in Kanchanpur district, within the buffer
zone of Shukla Phanta National Park.
The government issued an approval to utilise
42.36 hectares of national forest land and remove trees and poles on October
19, 2024.
A bilateral agreement between the
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the NITDB was
subsequently signed on January 8 this year. Permission to fell 1,593 trees
within the 42.36 hectares of national forest land for the ICP construction was
obtained from the National Park Office on February 6.
According to the NITDB, 940 of the 1,593
trees have been felled, with the remaining work expected to be completed within
next 15 days.
The project, with an estimated total cost
of approximately Rs. 3.80 billion, is being constructed with financial and
technical assistance of India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the
two governments was signed in June 2023.
"The Indian side has selected a
construction company, and a contract is expected to be signed soon," read
a statement by the Board. The project had been stalled for 15 years.
According to Ashish Gajurel, Executive
Director of the NITDB, with the completion of the tender process and the tree
management work within the next fifteen days, construction is expected to
commence within one to two months.
The dry port will feature modern trade
infrastructure, including roads, parking areas, platforms, warehouses,
weighbridges, container yards, passenger terminals, customs, banks, and animal
and bird food laboratories (quarantine).
Its completion and operation are expected
to facilitate trade and be a milestone in the development of the Sudurpaschim
Province and adjoining areas in the western-most part of the country.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 June 2025.
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