Industry Minister Bhandari inaugurates ICP Nepalgunj

JANAKI, BANKE: Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Damodar Bhandari, has stated that the operation of the Integrated Customs Point (ICP) will facilitate trade. 

At the inauguration of the ICP Nepalgunj today, Minister Bhandari expressed that its formal operation will further ease trade between Nepal and India.

He mentioned that with the operation of the ICP, smuggling will be curtailed and internal revenue will increase. "The use of integrated checkpoints will also control cross-border illegal trade," he said, "The most crucial aspect is that illegal imports will be regulated." The integrated customs check post constructed at the Nepal-India Jamunaha border point has officially become operational from today. 

Customs officer Dhrubaraj Bishwakarma reported that the customs check post was officially inaugurated by Minister Bhandari. 

Constructed at a cost of approximately Rs 2.75 billion, the ICP has been formally operationalised 18 years after an agreement was signed between Nepal and India for its construction. The ICP has been constructed on both sides of Nepal and India. While the land for building the facility on the Nepal side was provided by the Government of Nepal, the infrastructure was constructed by the Government of India.

The then Home Minister of India, Rajnath Singh, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the ICP in January 2019. However, the construction of the ICP commenced on September 22, 2020.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, jointly inaugurated the ICP through a remote technology system on June 1, 2023.

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