सिंहदरबार संवाददाता
Kanchanpur. India has invited bids for the construction of a dry port at Dodhara Chandani Municipality-1 in Kanchanpur. The Indian side has invited bids after an agreement was reached between the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee for the felling of trees at the port construction site.
The Indian side has invited bids for the construction of the port at a cost of 2.54 billion 31.99 million Indian rupees. Ashish Gajurel, Executive Director of the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee, informed that the Indian side has opened the bids for the construction of the dry port and said that the port construction work will begin soon. “The Indian side has already opened the call for bids, and we are also doing the final count of trees for felling,” he said. “The final report will come by Sunday, after which we will call for bids for felling trees.”
He said that the construction of the integrated check post will begin from the Indian side after the completion of the ‘site clearance’ work. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Government of Nepal and the Government of India on June 1, 2023, for the dry port to be built with the financial and technical assistance of the Government of India. The Intermodal Transport Development Committee has stated that two warehouse buildings, a customs inspection building, a quarantine building, an immigration building, a security building and other infrastructure will be constructed on an area of 42.36 hectares to be used for the integrated check post. Janga Bahadur Malla, a central member of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the western border will open doors to the potential of the Far West if it comes into operation along with the construction of the dry port.
He said that it is expected to make a major contribution to the development of the Far West as there will be easy access to the Indian capital New Delhi and the industrial area Rudrapur in Uttarakhand. “Rudrapur is the largest industrial area in India. It takes two hours to reach the industrial area of India from Nepal’s Gaddachauki border, but the Far West has not yet been able to conduct business with such a short distance from the industrial area,” he said. “The western border will open the door to trade expansion in this area after the construction of the dry port and integrated check post. “He said that if the construction of the Daiji-Chela industrial area along with the port can be taken forward, the door to prosperity in the Far West will open.
After the establishment of the dry port at Dodhara Chandni, there is a possibility that branches of industries in neighboring India can also open in Nepal and produce from here, says Gokarna Awasthi, director of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “The work on the port has started, now we need to start preparing whether we will only import from there or also export,” he said. “If this border crossing is operational, Nepal will have easy movement between India and Nepal, and the obligation to travel long distances will be eliminated.” He said that the government should work towards the objective of exporting through this border crossing, not just importing.
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