The Intermodal Transport Development Board (ITDB) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries has been managing the dry port since July 8, 2010.

“A facilitating agency has had to work as a business house after the private sector did not show any interest in operating the port despite inviting tender bids thrice,” said chief Nirmal Adhikari of ITDB, Kakadbhitta. According to Adhikari, it is against the norms for the government to be involved in business-oriented activities, especially following economic liberalisation and that it should limit its role to promoting the private sector and act as a facilitator instead.

 As per the provision, the government should hand over operations management to private sector after operating it for six months following the completion of the construction work. However, given the situation, the government has been operating the dry port as per the ‘Stop-Gap Arrangement’.

“It is unfortunate that the port has not been able to attract the private sector over such a long time and that the government has had to work against the norms,” said local businessman Bimal Acharya.

The dry port was constructed at the cost of Rs 393 million provided in soft loan by the Asian Development Bank. As per the agreement, the government has to clear the loan within 25 years of completion of construction work. However, the concerned authority seems grossly ignorant about the provision.

Stating that they had already started the process for fresh tender bids, executive director of the committee Laxman Bahadur Basnet said that they had made necessary amends in the old provision and were in the process to handover the management to the private sector.      

The private sector had not applied for the tenders the first and second time citing that the ‘minimum lease hold fee’ was too high. During the first tender invitation, the government had set the fee at Rs 160 million for a period of 10 years. The government had lessened the fee to Rs 100 million the second time. And after dropping the fee to Rs 40 million the third time, two companies had filed an application but backed out after stating that the fee was “still too high”.

Meanwhile, Adhikari said that the agreement between the government and the ADB, stating that the service charge should be in par with that of the Biratnagar and Bhairahawa dry ports, and the flaw in feasibility study conducted before the start of the construction work had affected the tender bids.

“However, taking exception to the situation, the ADB has agreed to change the prior agreement and apply the lease contract as per the existing conditions,” Adhikari said.