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Work to start on first border ICP
KATHMANDU, APR 23 -
The foundation stone-laying for an Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Raxaul along the Nepal-India border will be done by Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday.
The construction of the ICP, that will cover over 254 acres of land, is expected to be complete by June 2011. The project will cost INR 120 crore.
“The setting up of ICPs along the Nepal-India border is a major initiative which the Government of India has taken up as part of a scheme with an initial outlay of Rs 635 crore during the 11th Five Year Plan. The Raxaul Integrated Check Post is the first ICP in Bihar, and the second in the country after the Attari ICP where construction has already begun,” a statement released by India’s Home Ministry said.
Chief Minister of Bihar state in eastern India, Nitish Kumar, will also attend the foundation-laying ceremony.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna was earlier supposed to do the honours during his Nepal visit in mid-February. However, due to extreme weather conditions, he had to cancel the plan.
India is planning to set up three additional ICPs — Biratnagar-Jogbani Sunauli-Bhairahwa and Nepalgunj Road-Nepalgunj along the border.
The salient features of the state-of-the-art ICPs are modular designs, dedicated lanes for each process, separate gates for traffic across the border and guide signage, among others.
Facilities include passenger terminal building, currency exchange, internet facility, cargo processing building, cargo inspection sheds, warehouse/cold storage, quarantine laboratory, clearing agents, banks, scanners, CCTV/PA system, isolation bay, parking, cafeteria and other public utilities, the statement added.
The ICPs are expected to overcome infrastructural bottlenecks at various entry and exit points on the border of the country.
“They are expected to provide facilities for effective and efficient discharge of sovereign functions such as security, immigration, customs, quarantine, etc., while also providing support facilities for smooth cross-border movement of persons, goods, and transport,” the statement said.
A bill has been introduced in the Indian Parliament for the establishment of a Land Ports Authority of India, which is envisaged as a statutory body for the planning, construction, maintenance, and management of these ICPs, it added.
Posted on: 2010-04-24 08:04
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