Chinese Government provides $13.6 million grant for the Tatopani Frontier Inspection Station Project

Project narrative

On September 10, 2009, the Chinese Government agreed to provide a $13,637,514 grant to build an expanded customs inspection station at Tatopani on Nepal’s northern border through an exchange of letters that it signed with the Government of Nepal. Then, in June 2011, the Chinese Government signed another agreement to construct the Tatopani (Zhangmu) Customs Inspection Station near the dry port (also known as an inland clearance depot or ICD) at Larcha and hand it over to the Government of Nepal after completion. The project involved the installation of different facilities to ease customs clearance, such as a cargo warehouse, parking lot, and a digital truck scale to weigh goods. The purpose of the project was to improve the border customs clearance conditions and ease the flow of vehicles and people in the border areas in Nepal and to promote the development of bilateral trade between two countries. Beijing Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. (北京房地集团承) was the contractor responsible for implementation of the project, and on December 20, 2012, construction commenced. However, during project implementation, the Inland Clearance Depot (ICD) in Larcha was ravaged by floods and earthquakes. Beijing Real Estate Development Group reportedly abandoned the project in 2015. The project was resumed in April 2018, and, according to CGTN, was completed by China Railway 14th Contruction Bureau Co. According to "China Aid Post-Quake Reconstruction Projects in Nepal," the project was completed and opened in April 2019. The Government of Nepal’s Aid Information Management System (AMIS) records the official grant commitment amount of $13,637,514 as being fully disbursed between May 17, 2012 and November 21, 2017. AMIS also identifies an additional $81,114 in disbursement for this project that exceeded the original grant commitment amount.