The immigration office at Korala, a strategic border point between Nepal and China in Upper Mustang’s Lomanthang that was inaugurated with fanfare on October 30 by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, has remained closed since then.

The office was closed the day after the inauguration due to the Tihar holiday, and it has remained closed since then, even after the festival.

Staff assigned to the office left, citing harsh winter conditions, and announced plans to reopen in April.

“After the minister returned by helicopter, employees locked the office and left saying they would return in April,” said Lopsang Choppel Bista, chair of Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality. “The Chinese offices never close, whereas here, the office remains closed for half a year, citing weather.”

The Korala Immigration Office, situated at an altitude of 4,650 metres above sea level, had eight staff members deployed by the government, including one immigration officer, two senior immigration assistants, one assistant accountant, two assistant computer operators, and two office assistants.

Nepal has installed a prefabricated 10-room immigration and security post at the border, recently equipped with electricity, internet, and mobile phone connectivity. The government extended the central transmission line to Korala and provided Nepal Telecom’s internet services.

The Chinese side has also constructed essential infrastructure, including customs facilities, quarantine areas, accommodations, a laboratory, and truck parking. These facilities aim to enhance efficiency at the Korala dry port, for which the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board has prepared a detailed project report for further development.

Not only the immigration office but also the customs office located 12 kilometres below in Nechung alongside the Armed Police Force’s Border Outpost (BOP) is currently closed. Despite the closure of Nepal’s immigration and customs offices at Korala, the Chinese immigration office remains operational, allowing Nepali traders to cross into Tibet to bring back daily essentials.

With the Korala border officially open for trade, residents of Lomanthang and Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality in Upper Mustang are permitted to travel up to 30 kilometres into Tibet’s markets using identity cards, enabling them to bring back goods across the border.

Meanwhile, China celebrated the anniversary of the official opening of the border point. On November 13, officials from Mustang, including the Chief District Officer, security personnel, and local representatives, were invited to a ceremony held in Tibet’s Zhongba County.

Korala border point was officially inaugurated in November, in a joint ceremony between Mustang’s Chief District Officer and an official from China’s Shigatse Province.

With the Korala border point coming into operation, now Nepal, India and China trade can be operated through this route as well. The Kaligandaki Corridor that reaches up to the Korala border point is connected with Siddhartha Highway in Syangja district and the road ends at the Sunauli border point with India in Rupandehi district. The route from Nepal-India border point at Sunauli to the Nepal-China border point at Korala through the Siddhartha Highway and Kaligandaki corridor is taken as a possible alternative trilateral trade route between the three countries.