'Need to Set Up Nepal Consulate in Vizag to Boost Trade'

Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) Chairman MT Krishna Babu urged Nepal to set up a consulate or at least a trade facilitation centre here to improve trade with India.

Addressing a one-day workshop on Nepal-India trade organized by the Nepal embassy here, Mr Babu said that Visakhapatnam was notified as the second gateway port after Kolkata or Haldia for Nepal a year ago but the trade from here was still in a nascent stage.

The Container Cargo would be sent from here to Nepal.  He noted that the container terminal was one of the best in the country, with a deep draft, and it would offer great advantages to the Nepalese trade.

Though geographically Kolkata/Haldia might be nearer to Nepal, Visakhapatnam would work out cheaper considering other factors and advantages here, he stated. VPT Chairman Babu also revealed that the Container Corporation of India (Concor) had set up a logistics park here at a cost of Rs 500 crore and Visakhapatnam enjoyed good Rail Connectivity.

He appealed to the Nepalese trade to make use of the facilities here. Nepal’s Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyaya said that for land-locked Nepal, India was the biggest trading partner and all efforts would be made to facilitate trade to Nepal from here.

He also said Vizag port had excellent facilities for trade.  He said trade deficit was a matter of great concern to Nepal and they were making all efforts to boost their exports to India and other countries.

President-elect of the Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF) G Sambasiva Rao said the Nepalese trade would find all the facilities it needed at the Visakhapatnam port Trust.