Wagah border: FBR to acquire land to set up trade facilitation centre

LAHORE: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will acquire about 700 Kanal land at the Wagah border to set up state-of-the-art trade facilitation centre under the Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) in line with the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Improving Border Service Project, said sources.

They added that the Board would approach to the district administration for the acquisition of said land from the local landholders in and across the Wagah border.

It may be noted that a consultant of the Board had visited the Wagah border to inspect the site for setting up the centre in the month of April. The local Collectorate of Customs had facilitated the consultant during the visit of the border along with relevant maps of land.

The ITTMS is being executed under Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation-Regional Improving Border Services (CAREC-RIBS). The project would help upgrade the infrastructure at border crossing points, in the context of CAREC Corridor for Trade, to support a modern supply chain. Earlier, said sources, the Board was of the view to acquire about 500 Kanal for the purpose, however, the consultant has revised it to 700 Kanal after his visit.

The project was approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) in September 2015. It envisages the establishment of state-of-the-art facilities at Wagah, Torkham and Chaman border crossing points, official sources said, adding that once completed, it would significantly reduce the processing time at crossing points.

Sources said National Logistic Cell (NLC) was interested to carry out the project independently but the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has disagreed with the idea and instead preferred to build it up as a private entity.

It may be noted that the government had released an amount of Rs 76 million for the development of an Integrated Transit Trade Management System (ITTMS) back in 2019. The project is of great strategic importance both in terms of security and trade. The government had earmarked Rs 480 million for the project under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the fiscal year 2019-20, with foreign assistance of Rs 100 million. The total cost of the ITTMS project has been estimated over Rs 30 billion, which includes a foreign exchange component of Rs 26.04 billion.

Sources said the unique geostrategic position of Pakistan has made it the most preferred corridor for trade in South and Central Asia. The project includes the development of one-window ICT-based systems and procedures. The cargo movement from and to Karachi going upcountry for internal consumption within the country or for transit movement destined to exit from Chamman, Torkham and Wagah would be processed and routed through an integrated system to reduce dwell time for cargo clearance and onward dispatch.

Sources said the project would also ensure a proper exit of outbound cargo, a check on the backward flow of goods, decrease in the incidences of smuggling for keeping, pave way for one-window operations at country and regional level as well as for the introduction of Authorized Economic Operators.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022