Kathmandu, August 15

Construction of Inland Clearance Depot in Timure, Rasuwa, has been delayed, as the government had differences with the Chinese consultant, who prepared the detailed design of the ICD.

Chinese state-owned company Architectural Reconnaissance and Design Institute of the Tibet Autonomous Region had prepared the detailed design of ICD Timure, which is going to be developed under grant assistance of the Chinese government.

The detailed design is contrary to the initial design submitted to Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board, the authorised government agency responsible for managing and developing ICDs and integrated check posts.

According to government officials, the design submitted by the consultant is incomplete and the government does not want to go ahead as per this design just to utilise the Chinese grant.

The government had written to the Chinese government through the Embassy of China in Kathmandu citing shortcomings in the design that was submitted by the consultant immediately after the consultant submitted the report on May 4.

The detailed design prepared by ARDITAR does not include design for retention wall, adequate parking facility, water tank, redline (property boundary) for project design and fencing.

The government has already acquired around nine hectares of land to develop ICD in Timure. However, as per the design submitted by the consultant only around half of the land will be utilised. The government has proposed a parking facility for 650 trucks/containers but the consultant has prepared a design with parking space for only 250 trucks/containers. Authorities at NITDB have said that they are waiting for a response from the Chinese government to construct ICD as per the discussion between authorities of China and Nepal while signing the memorandum of understanding to develop ICD in Timure.

The Chinese government has not yet responded to the concerns about the detailed design of the project that was forwarded by the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the Ministry of Finance. The government’s approval of the design is a must before the Chinese government hires a contractor to construct ICD.

“We do not want to repeat the mistakes we committed in ICD Larcha, Sindhupalchowk,” Laxman Bahadur Basnet, executive director of NITDB, told THT. Due to lack of retention wall in the design of ICD Larcha, floodwaters from the Bhotekoshi River have damaged structures there.

During a renegotiation meeting, the Chinese side responsible to reconstruct ICD agreed to add retention wall and other features to make the infrastructure at ICD Larcha stronger and construction work is being carried out.

“The government will have to make further investment to complete the structures of ICD Timure if we approve the design submitted by ARDITAR,” stated Basnet.