Government starts operation of its own CFS in Kolkata

Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Matrika Prasad Yadav today inaugurated the container freight station (CFS) built by Nepal at Kolkata dry port in India. The CFS came into operation from today itself.
The private sector has expressed its gratitude towards the government for operating its own CFS, according to a press note issued by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) today. FNCCI vice president Kishor Kumar Pradhan also participated in the inauguration ceremony of the CFS. Other high ranking officials from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and Kolkata dry port and other Nepali stakeholders also took part in the inauguration ceremony, the FNCCI press note reads, adding that CFS is a warehouse, where goods carrying vehicles are kept to complete the legal process of import and export. “This initiative of the government will reduce the extra charges that Nepali traders have been paying for the import and export of goods via Kolkata dry port.”
The FNCCI had been requesting the government for this facility since long,” the press note reads, adding that the government has finally brought its own CFS into operation and FNCCI believes that this initiative will provide some respite to Nepali traders. “With the government’s own CFS, Nepali traders can now store their cargo containers at a cheaper rate.”
The statement adds that the CFS has the capacity to store around 500 containers.
Kolkata dry port was charging Rs 45 to Rs 65 Indian Currency (IC) per tonne per day from Nepali importers. However, after the operation of the Nepal government-owned container freight station (CFS), Nepali importers can now store their goods at half the amount, the press note adds.
Earlier, the government had launched the electronic cargo tracking system on February 15 to clear cargo vehicles coming via Kolkata dry port.

Chinese firm signs contract to build dry port in Timure

Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board signed an agreement today with a Tibetan construction company to construct the dryport at Timure of Rasuwa district to help ease bilateral trade via land route with the northern neighbour. 
The inland container depot – to be constructed with Chinese aid – is expected to cost 124 million Yuan.
Deputy director of the board Harey Krishna Mishra and project manager of the Chinese company Yang Enlin signed the agreement to construct the project that is expected to be completed in the next 30 months. Under the agreement, the Chinese government appointed company will construct the dry port on five hectares of land in Timure Rural Development Committee. The government has already acquired the land to construct the structure, a parking yard with capacity to park 350 trucks and containers.
The Chinese company will also construct a five-storey administrative building in 5,000 sq m of land. The building will incorporate a fire fighting system, a quarantine office, a customs office, banks and post office. “The dry port will house two customs clearance chambers built in an area of 2,080 sq m and a 750 sq m parking yard, cargo warehouse and litigation warehouse,” according to Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board.
According to a civil engineer of the NITDB Pramod Acharya, the board will only facilitate the construction process. “The Chinese construction company will build the dry port in two phases,” he said, adding that the design of the works to be completed in the first phase has already been approved by the Nepali and Chinese governments. “The design of the dry port was designed earlier on January 15 in Chinese city of Chengdu. The design of the project has been prepared by Architectural Reconnaissance and Design Institute of Tibet.”
Nepal and China, in April 2015, signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct the dry port that will be at 2.5-km distance from the Nepal-China border. The Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board, in association with the Architectural Reconnaissance and Design Institute of Tibet Autonomous Region, had finalised the design of the dry port in 2016.
The port will not only reduce overhead costs, promote competitive transport services and open opportunities to private sector operators through their involvement in management and operation of the dry port but will also help reduce the whopping trade deficit.
The dry port at Rasuwagadhi will be the second of its type that the northern neighbour has been constructing for Nepal as athe first one that has been under construction at Tatopani is almost at the final stage of completion.
The Rasuwagadhi customs point is not only an alternative gateway to China also due to damage of Arniko Highway – linking the Chinese border further east – because of devastating earthquake in 2015.