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🇳🇵 Nepal /Economy & Trade

Nepal's trade routes to China suffer repeated monsoon disruptions

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Nepal's northern trade routes to China face recurring disruptions from landslides and floods during the monsoon season, hindering cargo movement.
  • Experts attribute the persistent problem not only to Nepal's challenging terrain but also to years of inadequate planning and investment in road infrastructure.
  • Traders face significantly increased costs and delivery times due to detours, impacting both businesses and consumers during peak festival seasons.

Nepal's vital trade routes to China are once again succumbing to the annual monsoon, with landslides and floods disrupting overland transport and causing significant economic hardship. This recurring problem, now in its tenth year, halts cargo movement and leaves traders and consumers to absorb rising costs, particularly as the country enters its peak festival season.

frequent

— Narendra PariyarChief district officer of Rasuwa, describing the frequency of landslides on the trade route.

The primary overland routes to China traverse steep, unstable terrain along fast-flowing rivers, making them inherently vulnerable. However, experts argue that the issue is exacerbated by a decade of insufficient planning and investment. Engineers often focus solely on road construction, neglecting crucial geographical considerations like slope stability. While the current government's allocation of separate budgets for slope studies and protection is a positive step, past projects have faltered.

Stabilizing the most landslide-prone sections is estimated to cost around 200 million Nepalese rupees. Yet, even contracted projects have failed to materialize. A 480 million rupee contract for a vulnerable section was canceled after China offered to undertake the work, but years later, neither side has acted, leaving the section unfinished. The Tatopani crossing, a key route since 1967, is now completely closed due to landslides, a situation that has persisted for eight to ten years, cutting off the border for weeks or months each monsoon.

goes on and off during monsoon

— Narendra PariyarChief district officer of Rasuwa, describing the unreliable nature of the road during the monsoon.

This closure has forced traders to reroute goods through Kerung, a detour that more than triples transport costs to Kathmandu, from approximately 90,000 rupees to 300,000 rupees, and significantly extends delivery times. The Tatopani crossing, which once handled 30 to 40 trucks daily and was projected to generate 25 billion rupees in annual revenue, remains closed. Exports to China through this point have not resumed since the 2015 earthquake, as China has not reopened the crossing for outbound cargo, leaving revenue targets out of reach.

Engineers only design the road, ignoring the geography connected to the road

— Kalpana AdhikariGeneral secretary of the Nepal Geotechnical Society, criticizing past infrastructure planning.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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