Officials of Vizag Port flagging off the inaugural direct train container service between Vizag and Birgunj, in Vishakhapatanam, on Tuesday. Photo Courtesy: MoICS
Kathmandu, August 28
Transhipment facility for Nepal-bound cargo containers has begun from Vishakhapatnam (Vizag) Port from today, with the inauguration of a direct container train service between Vizag Port and Birgunj for transit cargo.
With 61 containers on board and shipped under a completely revolutionary customs procedure, traders were jubilant as they will no longer have to file a customs declaration in India, or hire a customs house agent (CHA) or run after transporters and Container Corporation (CONCOR) – subsidiary of Indian Railways that is authorised to ferry Nepal-bound cargo.
“It is a well-known fact that transporters, CHAs and shipping lines in Kolkata have formed a strong cartel and take unforeseen charges from hapless Nepali traders,” said Ravi Shanker Sainju, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS).
Speaking to The Himalayan Times, Joint Secretary Sainju said that the seeds of this development were laid by both the governments with the signing of a memorandum of intent on June 6, 2017 to pilot the use of an electronic cargo tracking system (ECTS) to facilitate traffic-in-transit between Nepal and India on selected routes.
“It is a result of the collaborated efforts of the senior officials of both sides. They have put in tireless efforts for over a year to make this possible,” said Sainju.
The Commissioner of Customs at Vizag Port in the first week of this month had issued a notification stating that the facility will be provided to Nepal-bound cargo containers using electronic cargo tracking system.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was entrusted with the responsibility of selecting a service provider through a global tender for execution of pilot project. ADB has brought the latest electronic locking and tracking technology for Nepal.
Joint Secretary Sainju further stated that the Vizag-Birgunj transhipment procedure will be carried out as a pilot project and based upon experiences, Nepal will request the government of India to implement this service through train and road from both Kolkata and Vizag.
“There will be huge saving in transport costs, CHA hiring expenses, and demurrage and port charges because of this procedure. Above all, the convenience that this facility offers is overwhelmingly delightful.”
Nepal is also considering to make a request that all containers that have piled up since long at Vizag be ferried using this modality. There are over 1,500 containers that have piled up since long as the validity of the letter of credit (L/C) has expired in some cases and some of them lack required documentation and also due to delay in document verification by the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi..
The pilot project is being executed by Transecur Telematics – a special purpose vehicle set up by the Bhimsaria Group – based out of India. They have teamed with globally renowned device manufacturers and high-tech software companies to bring the latest technology for monitoring transit. The facility comes with full alert systems for any seal tampering and global positioning system (GPS) facility for live tracking the movement of cargo..
Written by Sandeep
This news first appeared on https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/transhipment-facility-from-vizag-port-begins/ under the title “Transhipment facility from Vizag Port begins”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
