Slow progress of new ICP construction
BIRATNAGAR, JAN 08 -
With the Indian government planning to operate a new integrated checkpost (ICP) at the border crossing at Jogbani by mid-April, Nepali traders are worried by the slow pace of preparation on this side of the border.
The traders said that they would be facing difficulties after India starts custom operations from its new facility. The two countries had agreed to carry out customs transactions through the ICP in a bid to modernize the existing practice.
In 2005, Nepal and India signed an accord to build ICPs on either side of the border at Biratnagar , Birgunj, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj. Under the agreement, there will be matching complexes on both sides of the border. The Indian government had pledged to build the ICP on the Nepal side too, and it would just have to provide the required land.
The new ICP will house all the regulatory agencies such as immigration, customs, border security and quarantine along with other facilities including currency exchange, internet and cafeteria. Traders said that more than 80 percent of work on the Indian side had been completed.
Sashank Kumar Yadav, assistant commissioner of Jogbani Customs in India, has informed Nepali traders that the construction of the new facility had almost been completed and that they would be starting operations from there by mid-April.
“The operation of the ICP on the Indian side when the Nepali ICP is still unfinished will put Nepali traders in difficulty,” said Shiva Shankar Agrawal, president of the Morang Merchant Association. The traders have requested the Indian government to start operations only after the ICPs on both sides of the border are completed.
Officials said that the Indian side had been entrusted to construct the physical infrastructure and link road on the Nepali side, but it has not taken ownership of the land. “We have completed the distribution of land compensation, but the Indian side has not taken ownership of the land,” said Kishore Lal Mahaju, chief of the Urban Development and Construction Division Office.
The Nepal government completed building a fence and setting up a security base camp for the ICP a year ago. As per the agreement between the two countries, Nepal will hand over the land to the Indian side after distributing land compensation and erecting a fence around the area.
The construction was originally scheduled to be completed by July 2012 if Nepal provides the land. However, land acquisition for the project had been delayed by a dispute over compensation. The estimated cost of the proposed ICP is Rs 1.31 billion.
Traders in eastern Nepal have been routing imports from third countries through the roundabout Raxaul border point instead of bringing them through Jogbani. After the ICP is built in Biratnagar , it will not only ease exports and imports but also reduce the costs of trade. The distance between Biratnagar and the Indian port of Kolkata is 735 km. The ICP will likely be linked with Indian Railways which will facilitate trade with third countries.
