BIRGUNJ: The Container Corporation (CONCOR)-run dry port at Birgunj in Nepal has built a stockpile of 4,000 boxes despite having a storage capacity of 1,500 containers of 20 ft each as importers in Nepal are barely taking deliveries.
As the Birgunj container depot ran out of capacity, Kolkata and Vizag together developed a stockpile of nearly 6,000 boxes, which will take over 60 railway rakes to be cleared.
The dry port is the delivery point of third-country imports in Nepal though the Kolkata and Vizag ports.
According to CONCOR sources, at least seven rakes returned empty from Birgunj. Nepal barely has any exportable cargo. Normally rakes collect empty containers on return, The Hindu reported.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the extended lockdown has taken a heavy toll on trade across the subcontinent, but things have been particularly difficult for Nepal, where the truck movement is down to roughly 10 percent of the pre-Covid period.
“Non-availability of trucks and labor at Birgunj are major reasons behind the slow movement of cargo. Also, with factories and distribution outlets closed, people are not making any extra effort to make deliveries,” said a Nepali importer.
“We have a stockpile of nearly 3,000 Nepal-bound boxes. While the ground rents are waived for all users during the lockdown period, for Nepal we may offer the window for 15-odd more days after lockdown is lifted,” said Vinit Kumar, chairman of Kolkata Port Trust.
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