Synthesis report
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• No specific estimate is provided on the cost of publications of relevant rules
and regulations on the Internet and through other means. However, costs
related to enhancing publications and their availability online are expected to
be minimal.
• Training costs are not available as they are typically part of regular budgets.
In addition, some staff do take part in trainings outside the organization
(e.g., sponsored or organized by the World Bank or other international
organizations).
• Equipment/infrastructure costs related to trade facilitation represent up to
90 per cent of the minimum costs for improving compliance with Articles VIII
and X, and more for Article V. Included are development of web-based
applications, consolidation of existing and proposed IT infrastructure, additional
testing facilities and electronic cargo scanning machines at border points.
• Planned trade facilitation expenditures related to Articles VIII and X for an
18 month period, over and above regular budgets which include training and
publication costs, and including the above mentioned equipment/infrastructure
costs as well as a separate World Bank project to upgrade and establish
additional laboratories amount to almost USD 70 million. Planned expenditures
associated with enhancing transit amounts to less than USD 5 million earmarked
for improving equipment and transit related infrastructure, over and above
the existing customs and other agencies regular budgets.
Bangladesh
• A project aiming to reform and simplify customs procedures, shift to
post-entry audit for warehouse imports, increase private sector involvement
in the process of export reform through training and publication, and to introduce
electronic information and risk management systems was undertaken in 1999.
The budget for the 3-year phase was USD 9.61 million.
• A 3-year Trade Facilitation Project for the Chittagong Port is expected to be
implemented in the near future at a cost of USD 41.3 million, to be shared by
ADB and the Government of Bangladesh, namely, the Customs House of
Chittagong, the Chittagong Port Authority and the Roads and Highways
Department. No details on the hard and soft infrastructure components of
the project are available in the case study.
Nepal
• The study provides very crude estimates of the expected cost for the
Government to introduce trade facilitation measures, based on limited
information available from the budget of the three year Customs Reform Plan
as well as a number of inland clearance depot projects. The overall cost
estimate of USD 34 million given includes extension of inland clearance