Karnali province does not have any significant large-scale warehousing for the private sector or the humanitarian community. Storage capacity is mostly restricted to low volume storage owned and used by private sector traders, wholesalers and retailers. The Nepal Food Corporation, a parastatal company responsible for procurement and distribution of food commodities, is the only organization that can provide warehouse capacity at scale in Nepal, but availability of their storage facilities for third parties is linked to the harvest schedule. 

The low volume storage capacity of Karnali province in the local context refers to a room or two in a privately owned residential-type building. Dedicated warehousing facilities are almost non-existent. The province government planned to build a warehouse, but progress has stalled. 

The storage options that are readily available in the districts are warehouses of Nepal Food Corporation in the commercial sector and Nepal Red Cross Society storage in the humanitarian sector.  

Subsidiaries of private sector industry are present in Province 2, but in general they do not lease out storage space, as they use it privately.  

For more information on storage company contact details, please see the following link: 4.6 Nepal Storage and Milling Companies Contact List

Commercial Storage 

Most NFC warehouses are designed and built with concrete floors and brick and concrete walls and corrugated iron roofs with appropriate ventilation, to have appropriate storage conditions for food commodities. However, several of the warehouses lack regular maintenance, which can affect storage conditions. 

A new NFC warehouse is under construction in Surkhet of capacity 2000 MT. After the completion of the new warehouse, a total of 4000 MT storage capacity will be available in Surkhet. However, most NFC warehouses have depots in areas with relatively low accessibility.  

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations 

Nepal Red Cross Society maintains a stock of humanitarian relief materials for emergency preparedness in stores at their chapter offices. These humanitarian relief materials, such as tents, clothes, blankets, tarpaulins, buckets and kitchen items are distributed to individuals or families affected by disasters or isolated case of emergencies.  

NRCS has a regional level warehouse in Nepalgunj which supports 10 district chapters in the Karnali region. The NRCS district requirement for relief materials is to maintain NFI stock for approximately 100 to 150 families.  

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Public Sector Storage 

There is no public sector storage available in Karnali Province. Surkhet Airport has six rooms with shutter at their premises. 

Province 2 does not have any significant large-scale warehousing for the private sector or the humanitarian community. Storage capacity is mostly restricted to low volume storage owned and used by private sector manufacturers, traders and retailers. Two companies, Pashupati Carriers Pvt Ltd and Shree Carriers dominate the transport and storage sector in Province 2, which includes customs clearance, transport and storage of goods. They manage the supply chain from door-to-door, which is why there are limited independent, standalone warehousing facilities available in the province. The government’s counterpart to these private companies is Nepal Transit and Warehousing Company Ltd, but their service is exclusive to Birgunj Customs office.  

Since the construction of the Birgunj dry-port (Integrated Check Post), the need for exclusive warehousing facilities has increased. A subsidiary of Omni Finance group is operating a warehousing facility of 930m² (10,000 ft²) capacity (in 4 separate rooms).    

Storage options that can be readily available in the districts, are warehouses of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) in the commercial sector, a parastatal company responsible for procurement and distribution of food commodities, and Nepal Red Cross Society storage in the Humanitarian Sector.  

For more information on storage company contact details, please see the following link: 4.6 Nepal Storage and Milling Companies Contact List

Commercial Storage 

Most NFC warehouses are designed and built with concrete floors and brick and concrete walls and corrugated iron roofs with appropriate ventilation, to have appropriate storage conditions for food commodities. However, several of the warehouses lack regular maintenance, which can affect storage conditions. Wear and tear due to aging on the buildings are clearly visible but the structural integrity of the buildings has not been compromised. The full capacity of the warehouses is not being utilized since the role of NFC as a food and grain purchasing and storing entity is gradually being reduced due to an increasing access to roads and markets and increasing food self-sufficiency of the community.  

The Gajendra Narayan Singh Industrial Area in Saptari with an area of 149,000 m² was vacant.  10 warehouses, each of 286 m² (3079 ft²) in this industrial area could be used for emergency purposes.  

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations 

Red cross by the very nature of their core function in the area of their presence, they have to have a store or two to maintain the stock of Non Food Items. Those Non-Food items are to be distributed to the individuals or the families who are struck by disaster or isolated case of emergencies.  

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Storage at Birgunj Customs Dry Port 

Additional spaces like Inspection Sheds, Animals Sheds, Processing Sheds are also present in ICP. The capacity of them are as follows 

Sudurpaschim province does not have any significant large-scale warehousing for private sector or the humanitarian community. Storage capacity is mostly restricted to low volume storage owned and used by private sector traders, wholesalers and retailers. The Nepal Food Corporation, a parastatal company responsible for procurement and distribution of food commodities, and the Krishi Samagri Company Ltd, a public sector enterprise for fertilizers, seeds and agro-chemicals, are the only two organizations that can provide warehouse capacity at scale in Nepal, but availability of their storage facilities for third parties is linked to the harvest schedule.  

In 2015, WFP, in coordination with Ministry of Home Affairs and UK Aid established a Humanitarian Staging Area, a transit storage point for humanitarian relief materials, next to Tribhuvan International Airport cargo complex in Kathmandu. In coordination with UKAid, WFP is establishing seven more Forward Logistics Bases (FLB): one in Dhangadi, Sudurpaschim and 6 in the rest of Nepal (Nepalgunj, Birgunj, Biratnager, Bhairawa, Surkhet and Pokhara).  

Ministry of Home Affairs has developed provincial warehouses for emergency preparedness supplies in 5 different provinces. In Sudurpaschim Province, District Administration Office-Kailali is managing a province level warehouse in Dhangadi.  

Location of NFC Warehouse and their Depots

For more information on storage company contact details, please see the following link: 4.6.1 Nepal Province 2, Karnali Province and Sudurpashchim Province Storage and Milling Companies Contact List

Commercial Storage 

Nepal Food Corporation has warehouses in all 9 districts in Sudurpaschim.  

Krishi Samagri Ltd. cooperation is another government entity with warehousing facility in all 9 districts.  

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Storage Used by Humanitarian Organizations 

UN agencies, Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) and few more non-Government organization have storage capacity. Except NRCS other agencies are renting warehouses for storage proposes either from Government or private sector.   

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, and concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Public Sector Storage 

Very few provincial governments and local governments maintain warehouses for emergency preparedness propose. The warehouse size is limited and is not adequate to store sufficient supplies to respond to large scale disasters and road accessibility from district headquarters or municipality/rural municipalities is generally poor. 

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified 

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat 

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair 

Cold Chain 

Refrigeration facility is only available at the Province Health office.  

[1] Cold Room Positive, Cold Room Negative, Refrigerator, Freezer, 

[2] Compression, Absorption, Solar, Other, unspecified 

Humanitarian Organizations' Storage

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Public Sector Storage (FMTC)

Of 29,400 MT of the Food Management and Trading Companies’ (FMTC) total capacity in Province 1, 16 warehouses with total of 22,350 MT storage space can be available rent.

* General condition of the sites visited varied greatly. Some of the structures are in good condition but require minor repairs. However, some warehouse may be in poor state of repair.

For information on Nepal storage contact details, please see the following link: 4.6 Nepal Storage and Milling Companies Contact List.

Disclaimer: Inclusion of company information in the LCA does not imply any business relationship between the supplier and WFP / Logistics Cluster, and is used solely as a determinant of services, and capacities.

Please note: WFP / Logistics Cluster maintain complete impartiality and are not in a position to endorse, comment on any company's suitability as a reputable service provider.

Private sector storage

Private sector and big cooperate houses have their own storage space and warehouses. However, there are no professionally managed warehouses available for rent except ‘Godam Sewa’ which was started 3 years back and have capacity of 250,000 square feet storage space (31 warehouses at different locations in Kathmandu valley). Most of the Importers have been using commercial buildings and big bungalows as warehouses for storing the commodities.

For information on Nepal storage contact details, please see the following link: 4.6 Nepal Storage and Milling Companies Contact List.

Humanitarian Organization Storage

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Public Sector Storage (FMTC)

Of 34,550 MT of the Food Management and Trading Companies’ (FMTC) total capacity in Bagmati Province, 11 warehouses with total 10,150 MT storage space can be available to rent.

* General condition of the sites visited varied greatly. Some of the structures are in good condition but require minor repairs. However, some warehouse may be in poor state of repair.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Humanitarian Agencies Storage

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Public Sector Storage (FMTC)

Of 2,575 MT of the Food Management and Trading Companies (FMTC) total capacity in Gandaki Province, 1 warehouse of 250 MT capacity storage space can be available for rent.

* General condition of the sites visited varied greatly. Some of the structures are in good condition but require minor repairs. However, some warehouse may be in poor state of repair.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

For information on Nepal storage contact details, please see the following link: 4.6 Nepal Storage and Milling Companies Contact List.

Humanitarian Agencies Storage

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

Public Sector Storage (FMTC)

Of 30,050 MT of the Food Management and Trading Companies (FMTC) total capacity in Lumbini Province, 10 warehouse  with a total of 15,250 MT capacity of storage space can be available for rent.

* General condition of the sites visited varied greatly. Some of the structures are in good condition but require minor repairs. However, some warehouse may be in poor state of repair.

[1] Warehouse Type: Open storage, container, rub-hall, silo, concrete, other, unspecified

[2] Warehouse Access: Raised-siding, flat

[3] Warehouse condition: Appears intact, appears damaged, under construction/repair

For information on Nepal storage contact details, please see the following link: 4.6 Nepal Storage and Milling Companies Contact List.