The NITDB had invited proposals from interested firms to operate and manage the ICD as its contract with the current lessee Himalayan Terminal runs out at the end of July.

A member of the NITDB evaluation committee, said that they were assessing the technical side of the two companies that have applied to operate the ICD. According to him, the third company did not meet the technical criteria required for the purpose.

The lease term of the current lessee Himalayan Terminal, a Nepal-India joint venture terminal management company, ends on July 28. The government and Himalayan Terminal had signed a 10-year contract to operate the ICD in 2004.

According to the qualifications laid down by the NITDB, potential bidders for the

management contract should have a minimum experience of five years in handling warehouses, transport clearing or stevedoring. Similarly, the company should have three years’ experience in port management or handling freight station terminals.

Interested firms should also have an annual turnover of Rs 200 million and liquid assets of Rs 100 million. In addition, the selected company will have to agree to work in a joint venture with a Nepali company.

NITDB Executive Director Sarad Bikram Rana said that they would be selecting a new company to operate the Birgunj ICD for the next five years through a bidding process. According to him, the term of the contract has been fixed as per the bilateral Rail Service Agreement with the Indian government.

The board said it had given more weight to the bidder’s technical proposal. According to Rana, they will evaluate the financial proposal only if the company meets the requirements in the technical proposal. The Birgunj ICD is the country’s first rail-linked terminal that caters to bilateral cargo to and from India besides third country imports and exports. It was constructed in 2000 with World Bank assistance.

Last year, the ICD handled 20,000 containers and a number of other bagged cargoes. The dry port accounts for a major share of the country’s total customs revenue.

According to the NITDB, the government has been receiving a minimum rental of Rs 75 million annually.

In addition, the contracting company has been paying 60 percent of the revenue in excess of the minimum traffic earning to the government.

“As per the revenue sharing model agreed with the company, the government received Rs 9 million extra last year,” Rana added.