Country Presentation: Nepal Nepal in South Asia Nepal Nepal at a - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transport Connectivity including Transit Facilitation in Southern Asia

Country Presentation: Nepal

Nepal

Nepal in South Asia

Nepal at a Glance

 Situated between China and India

( Landlocked country)

 147,181 sq km of area  Population as per 2011 Census:

26.62 millions

 Birthplace of “Lord Buddha”  A Himalayan sangrila where 8 of

14 highest peaks on globe lies (altitude more than 8000 m, including Mt. EVEREST)

 A mountainous country (only

17% of flat land)

National transport Policy Initiatives

the National Transport Policy, 1998 states

...........Cross border, regional and sub-regional transport

and transit facilities shall be further developed and expanded. .........New international airport as an International Hub shall be constructed with the arrangement of precision landing, landing and take-off entirely within

• wn airspace, constructing of a parallel main

runway, if necessary. Such airport shall act in the development of tourism and promotion of international air cargo services (trade). ..........Construction of existing rail services shall be expanded and developed in coordination with the Indian rail way service.

Cross- Border Transit Transport by Land

Bac ackground an and Transit Is Issues

• Nepal sandwitched between India and China lacks the

access of seaport.

• deprives the competitive global business (absence of

sea port) the extra transit cost, is high up to 40% in Nepal’s case that inflates the price of commedities in import and export.

• Afghanistan depends on the ports Pakistan and

Iran for its overseas freight traffic whereas Nepal and Bhutan solely use Indian ports for their

• verseas trade:
• Nepal uses Kolkata port and Haldiya port and

Bhutan uses Kolkata port.

Nepal's Trade Balance with Some South and South- West Asian Countries in 2011/12

Country Export Import Trade Balance

Afghanistan 97.88 0.29 97.58 Bangladesh 2,578 1,502 1,075 Bhutan 543 249 294 India 50,933 321,346

• 270,413

Pakistan 225 266

• 40

(Rs. in millions ) * Estimated Sources: Nepal Rastra bank

Legal instruments for Cross- Border trade and Transit Transport by Road

1. Bilateral Trade Agreement with:  Nepal – India Transit Treaty, 2006  Trade and Transit Treaty between Nepal and China  Nepal Bangladesh Transit Treaty, 1976  Transit right of LDC related UN conventions 1980, 1991 and 2001,  Trade and Transit right as managed in Law of Sea 1958, 1982  WTO, BIMSTEC,SAFTA (Nepal's bilateral Trade Agreement between 17 countries and Nepal's accession to the WTO, April, 2004)  BIPPA agreement concluded with 10 countries including India  Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (TAA) with India 2. SAARC Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters

Main Corridors for Cross-Border Transit Transport by Road

Trade and Transit by Road

 India-Nepal: 27 Bilateral trading points in Indo-Nepal border (Treaty of Trade)  China-Nepal: 3 international and 3 bilateral trade point Transit R Route In India and Bangladesh  Kolkota/Haldia Sea Port for 3rd country trade connecting with 15 Nepal-India Routes  Phulbari-Banglabandh Transit to Bangladesh

Trade Corr rridors and Transport lin linkages

Roads alo along South th to to North th sides-

• Raxaul(India)- Birgunj (Nepal)- Hetaunda- Narayanghat- Kathmandu- Tatopani

(China Border) AH42

• Kathmandu- Galchhi- Rasuwagadhi- Kerung

Mah ahendra highway

• 1027 km from Kakarbhitta border to Mahendranagar border (AH2)
• Missing link at the west Mahendranagar (Nepal)- Banabasa (India),
• Poor conditioned road in East side Phoolbari

Tradin ing Poin ints and nd Transport corrid idor

• 27 Trade & Transport Links along the border of Nepal and India
• 3 trade & Transport Links along the border of Nepal and China

• A missing link on the AH

2 exists. Connection beyond Mahendra Nagar via Brahmadev Mandi through Tanakpur (India) and Banbasa does not exist.

• The Government of India

has taken inititiative to support and construct this portion of the alignment.

• The

detailed design works is complete and land compensation has been distributed. No progress has been made for a long time (almost a decade).

Description Distance KM. Asian Highway SASEC Corridor SAARC Corridor Birgunj- Kathmandu- Kodari 297 AH42

• No. 1

No.2 Kakarbhitta- Brahmadevmandi 1027 AH02 No.5 No.4

Cross-Border Trading Points

Bangladesh

China India NEPAL

Regional Connectivity and possible transit Corridors of Nepal

1.

Asian Highway Network (East- west link Mahendra Highway AH 02 and North – South link Kodari – Raxaul AH 42).

1.

North- South trade and transit corridors(future possibilities) i. Mohana-Dhangadi-Ataria-Baitadi-Darchula-Tinker 415 Km ii. Nepalgunj-Surkhet-Jumla-Hilsa-Yari-Purang 581 KM iii. Bhairahawa-Pokhara-Jomsom-Lizhi 467 KM iv. Birgunj-Galchi-Rasua-Syafrubesi 340 KM v. Birgunj-Naubise-Kathmandu-Tatopani-Nyalam 393 KM vi. Janakpur-Dolakha-Lamabagar-China border 295 KM

• vii. Rani-Itahari-Hile-Kimathanka-China border 419 KM
• viii. Kechana-Taplejung-Olangchungola 460 KM

SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Corridors (SRMTC)

The identified SRMTC that have strong relevant and importance to Nepal:

I.

Road corridor 2: Kathmandu-Birgunj-Kolkata-Haldia (1,323 km)

II.

Road Corridor 4: Kathmandu Mongla and Chittagong via Fulbari Banglabandha

III.

Road Corridor 7: Kathmandu-New Delhi-Lahore-Karachi (2,643 km)

IV.

Road Corridor 10: Kathmandu-Bhairwhawa-Lucknow,

V.

Rail corridor : Birgunj-Kokata/Haldia

VI.

Rail corridor: Birgunj-Mongla/Chittagong via Katihar Rohanpur

Current Status of Cross-Border Operations of Freight and Passengers by Rail

Railway transit route from Nepal to Kolkata SAARC Rail Routes (Bangladesh)

• Jayangar in India to Janakpur 42 km old narrow gauge
• The Raxaul and Birgunj ICD in Nepal, a 5.4 km for

freight.

Cross-Border Operations for Freight and Passengers by Rail

 50% of the import in containers by rail from Kolkata to Birgunj.  Nearly 5% of import in containers arriving by rail at Raxaul originate

from Chittagong.

 While there is a rail link from Chittagong to Dhaka ICD, it is not possible to

transit completely by rail to Nepal.

Legal Arrangements for Cross Border Rail Operations

 Nepal India Railway agreement in May 2004  Need to review in every 5 year  The existing railway agreement signed in 2004

allows limited movement of rail Cargo between Birgunj ICD and Kolkata and Haldiya ports of India.

Existing and Planned Railroad connectivity

I.

Existing: Janakpur- Jayanagar Railway of 26 Km.

II.

Under Construction: Bardibas-Simara section (108 km) of East west Rail Network.

iii.

Under DPR:



East- West Electricfied railway traversing the country (945 Km)



Kathmandu – Tamsaria link



Kathmandu Pokhara link



6 connections with Indian Rail Network

Transport transit and facilitation measures Facilities at the Border

 27 traditional check post at border and five Inland Clearance Depots (ICDs) at:

• Birgunj (rail, India);
• Biratnagar (road, India);
• Bhairahawa (road, India);
• Kakadbhitta (road, India); and
• Tatopani (road, China).
• Feasibility study has been done for the construction of dry port in Sharalahi,

Rajbiraj, Gaur and Maheshpur Customs .

• Integrated check post construction in Birantagar, Birgunj, Nepalgunj and

Bhairawa customs under process.

Transport Facilitation Measures – Inland Container Depot

Proposed ICD

Key Challenges of Trade Facilitation and transit transport in Nepal

 Provision of multimodal transport facility  Investment in infrastructure hardware as well as software  Quality of roads and railways infrastructure and service  Gauge compatibility for railways  Border facilities including customs, infrastructure  Use of ICT in trade administration  Quality control/quarantine related issue  Illegal trade regulation

Thank you very much for your time !!!