Govt running dry port as contractors stay away

KAKKARBHITTA, DEC 03 -

The government has been forced to manage Mechi Dry Port by itself as there were no takers from the private sector even after several attempts to find a willing contractor.

The Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Committee has been managing the port since October 10, 2010.

“Nobody wanted to operate the dry port although we invited tenders thrice,” said Nirmal Adhikari, chief of Intermodal at Kakkarbhitta. “We have been acting like a trader although we are the body in charge of facilitating the operation of the dry port.”

Traders said that the government should not have to handle the dry port for long. “The failure to award the management contract to the private sector is really unfortunate,” said Bimal Acharya, a member of the Purbanchal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

The dry port was built with Rs 393 million in assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to facilitate trade with India and third countries.

Nobody came forward to submit bids during the first and second calls for tenders, and potential bidders said that the minimum leasehold fee was too high.

The government had asked for Rs 160 million as leasehold fee for 10 years during the first tender call. The Intermodal Committee had slashed the fee to Rs 100 million during the second call for tenders but there were still no takers.

When the committee issued a tender notice for the third time two and half years ago, the fee was cut to Rs 40 million, and two companies applied to run the dry port. But they still thought the rent was too much. The committee has not called for tenders since then. “A new tender should have been called, but we have not been able to do so,” said Adhikari.

One of the conditions put to the government by the ADB was that the leasehold fee for Mechi Dry Port should not be lower than the fees for the dry ports in Biratnagar and Bhairahawa.

Adhikari said that the condition was not in line with the volume of commerce passing through Mechi, cargo traffic and feasibility study of the project. “This has led to the delay in awarding the management contract,” Adhikari added.

Source: The Kathmandu Post