Portfolio

Department of Trade – Bhutan – Consultancy Services for Feasibility Study of Nganglam Dry Port including development of ICT Systems in Bhutan (MoEA)

Detailed Narrative Description of Project:

The Royal Government of Bhutan has envisaged conducting a Feasibility Study to develop a Dry Port at Nganglam, potentially through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. The study shall provide a detailed assessment of all economic, financial and technical aspects for developing the Dry Port and make recommendations for a viable Public Private Partnership which delivers best value for money. MoEA has appointed M R Technofin as a Consultant for conducting this feasibility study of dry port.

Detailed Description of Actual Services Provided by your Staff:

• Assessed the cargo traffic, trade demand, expectations, benefits, and strategic necessity of a well-equipped dry port.
• Prepared an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the greenfield dry port which included:
• Detailed site investigations and stakeholder consultations in the Eastern region of Bhutan
• Review of environmental and social laws and regulations and their applicability to the project
• Institutional setup and advising the Client on required clearances and permits
• Baseline studies on topography, geology, meteorology, air, noise, hydrology, and ecological habitat
• Identified environmental and social impacts at both the construction and operational phase
• Prepared an environmental management plan to amplify positive impacts and mitigate negative impacts
• Assigned responsibilities for implementing and monitoring impact mitigation
• Developed an overall masterplan for the proposed dry port inclusive of rail and road connectivity.
• Determine the optimal technical solution for the construction and operation of the proposed dry port.
• Assessed the traffic potential as well as the technical, economic, social, environmental and commercial feasibility of the proposed dry port. Specifically:
• Conducted an in-depth study of Bhutan’s monthly trade volumes pre- and during the pandemic
• Held detailed discussions with both public and private actors in Bhutan’s supply/ logistics chain spheres to understand the drop in trade volumes during the pandemic which were mainly due to supply/logistics chain constraints and not demand
• Estimated the Capital cost of the project and assess the viability of ‘Phasing’.
• Estimated the development, operation and maintenance costs of the project based on the optimal technical solution.
• Determine the economic and financial viability of the project based on the cargo-traffic, trade demand and the development/operational/ maintenance costs estimated.
• Assessed and design the trade clearance and facilitation processes and procedures to minimize costs and delays associated with handling imports and exports through the proposed dry port.
• Analyzed the Public Private Partnership (PPP) options and recommended the viable option.
• Afforded a basis for the solicitation of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) design-build-operate-transfer or other) investor to develop and/or operate the project.