Govt mulls container depot at Attari to promote Indo-Pak trade

ATTARI: The government is considering to set up a container depot near the Attari-Wagah border to facilitate trade between India and Pakistan, which has the potential to rise by 200 per cent within a short period.

"We have written to the Central Board of Excise and Customs ( CBEC), saying that there is a demand for container trade through the Attari Border. We have suggested setting up of dry port somewhere near integrated check post at Attari," Customs Commissioner (Amritsar) K K Sharma said.

"Finance Ministry has taken up the matter with Commerce Ministry," he said.

Imports from Pakistan through the Attari border land route in April-December, 2012 in value terms stood at Rs 630 crore, up 87 per cent over the same period in 2011.

Besides, India's export to Pakistan through this route stands at Rs 1,237 crore in the April-December 2012-13, an increase of 54 per cent over the corresponding period.

Container Warehousing Corporation (CWC) could be entrusted with the task of building the storage facility for container trade, Sharma said, adding that if both rail and road routes work to full capacity, trade between the two countries could go up by as much as 200 per cent.

He said traders prefer the land route for exporting goods to Pakistan.

Earlier, trade was allowed through headload at the border but from October 1, 2007, both the governments have agreed to allow transportation of goods through trucks.

At present, the goods coming from Pakistan through trucks are unloaded at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, situated 32 km from Amritsar and 28 km from Lahore. At the same time, Indian trucks can enter Pakistan and unload near the Wagah border.

Sharma said customs officials manually clear around 200 truck loads of goods for Pakistan everyday and the department is in the process of securing a scanner by the end of 2013 for speedier clearance of goods.

The Pakistan side has already installed a scanner at the border to check the trucks.

Sharma said setting up a container freight station somewhere between Wagha and Attari border would ensure speedier clearance of goods and facilitate trade between the two neighbours.

"We also have to start rail interchange movement again. If both rail and ICP function at full capacity trade will go up substantially," he added.