Nepal to use Visakhapatnam Port

Nepal will now use Visakhapatnam Port also to move its ex-im cargo, as per the joint statement issued after the Nepalese Prime Minister’s recent visit to India, Exim News Service informs.

At present, Kolkata Port handles almost all of Nepal’s seaborne trade.

A few years ago, the Nepal government opened a window on West Coast, promising to route part of its imports and exports through Jawaharlal Nehru Port. However, nothing concrete resulted and almost all of Nepal’s seaborne trade remained routed through Kolkata Port, which is the nearest transit facility for that country.

The existing protocol governing the trade and transit facility between the two countries does not provide for transit facility through any other port. Which means, to include Visakhapatnam Port, the protocol has to be modified, requiring ratification by the authorities concerned in both the countries.

The move to divert part of Nepal’s seaborne trade from Kolkata to Visakhapatnam Port is not new. The Port has a modern container terminal operated by a private joint venture company.

One of the promoters of the Vizag container terminal is also the promoter of another company that runs container trains in the country.

The plan, therefore, is to run private containerised trains between the inland container depot (ICD) at Birgunj in Nepal and the Visakhapatnam Port.

A delegation from Nepal had visited Visakhapatnam Port some time ago. The Birgunj ICD is directly linked to Kolkata Port by rail and the containerised train service on the route is operated only by the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR).

Till July this year, the Kolkata Dock System handled 3,54,619 tonnes of goods, comprising 3,41,303 tonnes of imports into Nepal and 13,316 tonnes of exports.

During the same period, Haldia Dock handled a total of 36,761 tonnes of ex-im cargo.
In 2008-09, the total volume of Nepal’s traffic routed through the Kolkata Port was 8,41,536 tonnes, of which 7,40,366 tonnes were through the Kolkata Dock System and 1,01,170 tonnes via Haldia Dock.

Source: Transport Weekly