Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, May 18:

The contract for the operation and management of Inland Container Depot (ICD) located at Birgunj has been given to Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) for a ten years period after months of quarrel between the business community and the government over who should be given the contract. The government had invited bids from Indian and Nepali companies for the operation and management of the ICD three times. Only two companies namely CONCOR and B Ghosh and Company, both Indian companies, emerged qualified enough for submitting tender documents.

The selection of the operator was based on the mandatory provision of having a minimum three years experience in the past 10 years in handling and operating rail-linked ICD in Nepal and India. Talking to the The Himalayan Times, president of Nepal Freight Forwarders Association, Namgyal Lama said that the contract has been finally given to CONCOR which holds sufficient experience as not many companies had submitted tender documents. The tender documents were opened and decided upon in the presence of representatives from Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), Ministry of industry, commerce and supplies (MOICS), Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA), Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITD) and Customs Department (CD) The meeting was chaired by industry secretary Dinesh Chandra Pyakuryal, according to Lama. CONCOR will operate for 10 years and pay Rs 956.4 million for the same period to the government as fee. CONCOR has to pay Rs 48 million in 2004. In 2005, it has to pay Rs 50 million and Rs 52 million in 2006. The rest of the amount will have to be paid by CONCOR between 2007 to 2013 at a rate of Rs 152 million annually. CONCOR has to install two different weighing bridges at the ICD as per the criteria weighing 60 and 100 metric tonnes respectively, according to Lama. According to him, container charge to be paid by exporters at ICD Birgunj and Kolkata port is yet to be decided. The CONCOR has a tough job at hand as it has to check pilferage, transit timing from ICD Birgunj to Kolkata and cost factor to let smooth functioning of the port in a bid to boost export.