A meeting of Joint Steering Committee for Implementation of ICP Project that concluded on Wednesday decided to commence construction of ICP at Birgunj customs from the next month. Indian delegation led by AE Ahmad, Indian Home Secretary (Border Management), had attended the two-day meeting. [break]
Officials of Nepal and India had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on August 3, 2005, to set up ICPs at Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj customs points in Nepali side and corresponding customs offices in the Indian side.
“We have agreed to handover the responsibility for construction of ICP at Birgunj customs to an Indian contractor on July 15. Construction works will complete in 14 months,” Kamal Raj Pandey, joint secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works (MoPPW), told myrepublica.com after the meeting.
The two countries had selected the Indian contractor on June 18. The total cost has been construction has been estimated at Rs 1.37 billion.
Pandey informed that the construction of ICP at Biratnagar customs would begin after six months as the government has already completed land acquisition process. “After Biratnagar, we will also initiate the process to construct ICPs at Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj,” he added.
India has agreed to provide Rs 5 billion for the construction of ICPs at four customs points as per the Mirror Image Concept under which same facilities and structures will be built on either sides of the border.
Officials at MoPPW said the project would help establish systematic and properly inter-connected border check post with uniform facilities in both the sides. They also said the ICPs would also help boos bilateral trade.
In an effort to provide all services such as immigration, customs clearance and quarantine checking in an effective manner, the Indian government has been providing support to construct such ICPs along its border with Pakistan, Bangladesh Bhutan and Nepal.
India is helping construct a total of 13 ICPs - seven in Bangladesh, four in Nepal and one each in Pakistan and Bhutan. An ICP at Wage border between India and Pakistan has already been constructed.
Related story
Birgunj ICP fails to please importers
