BANKE, MAY 6

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari has said that with the operation of the Integrated Checkpoint (ICP), trade will be facilitated. Inaugurating the Integrated Customs Checkpoint located at Nepalgunj today, he said that after its formal operation, trade between the two countries will be further facilitated.

Minister Bhandari said that with the operation of checkpoints, smuggling will be controlled and internal revenue will increase. 'The use of integrated checkpoints will also control the cross-border illegal trade,' he said,

'The most important thing is that illegal imports will come under control.' The integrated customs check post built at the Nepal-India Jamunaha border point has been officially operational from today.

Customs officer Dhrubaraj Bishwakarma informed that the customs check post was officially opened after the inauguration by Minister Bhandari.

Built at a cost of around 2.75 billion rupees, the integrated check post has been formally put into operation 18 years after an agreement was signed between Nepal and India for its construction. Integrated check post has been built on both sides of Nepal and India. Although the land for building the facility on the Nepal side was allotted by the Government of Nepal, the infrastructure was built by the Government of India.

Then Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for the construction of ICP in January 2019. However, the construction of the Integrated Customs Checkpoint (ICP) was started on 22 September 2020.

Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the ICP through remote technology system on 1 June 2023.