Mustang, Aug 31: The closure of the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods is rapidly shifting China-bound cargo toward Mustang’s Korala crossing, turning the northern trade point into a key alternative route.
At least 66 cargo containers had been recorded at the Armed Police Force check post in Jomsom by Sunday evening. Officials said the flow of containers toward Korala has increased since the Rasuwagadhi crossing became unusable.
Transport operators say much of the cargo now travelling through Korala was originally scheduled to enter Nepal via Rasuwagadhi. Container driver Kumar Devkota said traders and transport companies were rerouting shipments to keep goods moving despite the disruption on the Rasuwa corridor.
The sudden diversion is putting additional pressure on Korala, which the government has promoted as an alternative gateway for trade with China. A prolonged closure of Rasuwagadhi could significantly increase the volume of cargo handled through Mustang, testing the border’s customs and transport capacity.
Korala has already become an important source of customs revenue. The Mustang Customs Office collected Rs 6.92 billion in fiscal year 2025/26. It collected a further Rs 290 million in the first month of the current fiscal year.
But the border is not operating with a full workforce. Customs chief Bidur Chudal said the office has 18 approved positions, of which only 12 are currently filled.
The increased traffic could therefore create bottlenecks unless customs staffing, storage, inspection and road facilities are expanded. The Korala route also faces geographical and infrastructure constraints that could become more visible if it has to absorb a large share of the cargo normally handled through Rasuwagadhi.
The disruption highlights Nepal’s dependence on a small number of northern trade corridors. Damage to the Rasuwagadhi route has not only affected traders and importers but has also forced authorities to rely on an alternative crossing that has limited capacity.
For now, Korala is helping keep China-Nepal trade moving. If repairs to the Rasuwagadhi corridor take longer than expected, however, the government may have to rapidly scale up Korala’s infrastructure and customs capacity to prevent the temporary diversion from turning into a major logistics bottleneck.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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