The clearance of the first trial transit consignment imported by Bhutan has begun at the Chattogram port.
The cargo reached the port from Thailand two months ago.
The cargo is set to be released today and dispatched by road through India to Bhutan, a land-lock country, according to the appointed clearing and forwarding agent NM Trading Corporation.
鈥榃e鈥檙e completing the process smoothly. We expect to finish clearance by tomorrow noon,鈥� NM Trading managing director Shahidul Alam Khan told 抖阴精品 on Monday.
鈥楾he container will then move by road to Bhutan,鈥� he added.
Under the trial run, the route鈥檚 first stretch was from Thailand鈥檚 Laem Chabang port to Chattogram.
From Chattogram port the container will head to the Burimari land port by road and through the Changrabandha land port across Burimari will enter India.
In the last stretch of the route, the cargo will then go from Chengrabandha to Siliguri in West Bengal state of India and from there it will enter Bhutan at Phuentsholing.
The trial container from Thailand carries 6,530 kilogram (6.5 tonnes) of goods, including shampoo, dried palm fruit, iced tea, chocolate and juice, while the exporter is Abit Trading Company Ltd of Thailand and the importer is Bhutan鈥檚 Abit Trading.
Having no seaport, Bhutan imports third-country goods via neighbours.
To facilitate the movement, Bangladesh and Bhutan signed the 鈥楢greement on the Movement of Traffic-in-Transit鈥� and its protocol on March 22, 2023.
Under this framework, the trial consignment arrived at Chattogram on September 22 aboard the Bangladesh flag carrier MV HR Hera.
Three agencies are collecting charges for the trial move inside Bangladesh鈥擟hattogram Customs, Chattogram Port Authority, and the Roads and Highways Department.
Earlier, a National Board of Revenue order issued on November 17 set the following document processing fee at Tk 30 per consignment; trans-shipment fee Tk 20 per tonne; security charge at Tk 100 per tonne; escort fee Tk 85 per container per kilometre; administrative charge Tk 100 per tonne; and scanning fee Tk 254 per container.
Road tolls and charges for the trial have also been fixed.
According to a Roads and Highways Department letter sent to the NBR on November 20, the transit corridor from Chattogram port to Burimari spans 684 kilometres.
This includes a 12km tolled Port Access Road at Tk 45, and bridge tolls totalling Tk 4,815 for the Meghna, Meghna-Gomati, Jamuna and Teesta bridges.
Based on the trailer鈥檚 gross weight, an additional per-tonne charge applies to the 672km toll-free segment which stands at Tk 1,462 total for a cargo weighing one tonne.