On Thursday, the first land
port in Uttar Pradesh at the India-Nepal border was essentially opened by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart, Pushpakamal Dahal Prachanda.
The Rupaidiha Land Port, which is situated on 115 acres of land, cost roughly
USD24.3 million to build.
According to the management
of Land Port Authority of India, Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board
would oversee the port on the Indian side while Land Ports Authority of India
would operate it in Nepal. The port contains a sewage treatment facility, an
underground water tank, passenger and freight terminals, quarantine buildings, warehouses,
restrooms, and canteens. The port would be connected to NH-927, which runs from
Barabanki to the Rupaidiha border, by a 2.2-km feeder highway. At the same
time, the Bhumi Pujan for the land port that would be constructed on the
Sonauli boundary of the Maharajganj district was held. Officers from both
nations were in attendance. The land port will be watched over by Sashastra
Seema Bal employees, and CCTV cameras have been placed all around it.
Bringing immigration,
customs, and other services from the two nations under one roof at these centers
on both sides of the border facilitates the transit of cargo trucks across the
border.
The Nepalese government
anticipates that there will be numerous investment opportunities in the hydro
power industry as well. A long-term power trade agreement has been concluded,
making electricity trading between India and Nepal more predictable and
attracting greater investment into Nepal's hydropower industry.
Both nations agreed to a
number of significant agreements, one of which called for New Delhi to purchase
10,000 megawatts of power from the neighboring nation during the following ten
years. The Indian government approved the first trilateral power trade for up
to 40 megawatts of power from Nepal to Bangladesh via India, fostering deeper
regional cooperation. An oil pipeline from Amlekhganj to Lothar in Chitwan, a
400 KV double circuit transmission line between Gorakhpur and New Butwal, and
the Sunauli Bhairahawa Integrated check post’s foundation were also laid.
The two countries bilateral
trade was USD8.9 billion in 2022–2023 compared to USD11 billion in 2021–2022
dollars. Additionally, agreements on digital payments were inked by both
countries.
According to TechSci
Research report on “India Ports Infrastructure Market By Type (Major Ports
and Minor Ports), By Commodity (Liquid, Bulk, Containerized and Others), By
Construction Type (Terminal, Equipment and Others), By Application (Passenger
and Cargo), By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2028” India
Ports Infrastructure Market is expected to grow at a formidable rate during the
forecast period owing to importing or exporting commodities for which many
sectors rely on maritime shipping, therefore, driving the market of India's
port infrastructure. Furthermore, shipping products by air is more expensive
than shipping them by water. During the projected period, this is also
anticipated to help the India port infrastructure market grow.