The Rasuwagadhi trade route along Nepal-China border is set to reopen from Thursday.
Nepal and China will formally announce the reopening of Rasuwagadhi customs on Thursday, according to officials. China has already repaired the 22-kilometer road that links the customs point with Chinese town of Kerung.
The road was badly damaged by the earthquake of April 25.
The reopening of the customs point will bring some relief to Nepalis who have been facing shortage of essential commodities and petroleum products for the past three weeks due to the Indian blockade.
Talking to Republica, Chief of Rasuwagadhi Customs Points Kedar Prasad Paneru quoted Chinese officials as saying that the road is now fit to support bilateral trade. “Officials of Nepal and China were earlier scheduled to meet on Tuesday. But it has been postponed to Thursday due to delay in making the road operable,” Paneru said. “The joint meeting will formally announce reopening of the trade route.”
Officials of Rasuwagadhi Customs Office, Immigration Office and Nepal Police as well as officials of Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu will meet Chinese officials in Kerung on Thursday and announce resumption of the trade route which has remained shut since the earthquake of April 25.
Rasuwagadhi is the second largest trade route with China after the Tatopani trade route. Tatopani trade route is still shut as Chinese authorities are yet to open their customs and immigration offices, stating that Khasa bazaar is still unsafe.
The shutdown of two trade routes has affected Nepal’s export to China as well import of Chinese goods ahead of the Dashain-Tihar festive season.
The opening of the trade route with the northern neighbor has been taken as an important move as Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) is mulling over importing petroleum products from China after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) refused to make supplies for many days, affecting daily life in Kathmandu and major cities.
Jiba Raj Koirala, joint secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, informed that talks are ongoing with Chinese officials to reopen Tatopani trade route at the earliest.
Published on: My Republica (Oct 14,2015)
