Baseline Assessment for Digitizing Border Procedures at Bhomra Land Port

The Challenge

Bhomra Land Port is one of Bangladesh’s busiest land border crossings, serving as a critical gateway for bilateral trade with India. Despite increasing trade volumes, many operational processes remained dependent on manual documentation, paper-based workflows, and fragmented coordination among multiple stakeholders. These inefficiencies contributed to longer processing times, higher transaction costs, and administrative burdens for traders, customs agents, transport operators, and service providers.

To support the modernization of border operations, Swisscontact sought a comprehensive baseline assessment to understand existing procedures, identify bottlenecks, and evaluate the readiness of stakeholders for digital transformation and e-payment adoption.

Inspira’s Approach

Inspira Advisory & Consulting Ltd. conducted a comprehensive baseline study of border management procedures at Bhomra Land Port as part of the Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project (BTFP).

The study combined business process analysis, stakeholder mapping, time-cost assessments, workflow diagnostics, and digital readiness evaluation to generate a detailed understanding of operational challenges and opportunities for digitization. Particular emphasis was placed on examining payment systems, inter-agency coordination mechanisms, procedural inefficiencies, and stakeholder preparedness for transitioning to digital service delivery.

Key Deliverables

Business Process Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping

• Mapping of border procedures and operational workflows
• Identification of key stakeholders and institutional roles
• Analysis of inter-agency coordination mechanisms

Time-Cost Baseline Assessment

• Measurement of processing times across border procedures
• Identification of cost drivers and administrative burdens
• Documentation of procedural bottlenecks and inefficiencies

E-Payment and Digital Workflow Assessment

• Assessment of existing payment systems and transaction processes
• Evaluation of digital payment options and adoption potential
• Analysis of infrastructure and operational requirements for e-payment implementation

Digital Readiness and Capacity Assessment

• Assessment of organizational and stakeholder readiness for digitization
• Identification of awareness, capacity, and infrastructure gaps
• Recommendations for transition planning and change management

Results and Impact

1. Established a baseline evidence base for future digitization initiatives at Bhomra Land Port.
2. Mapped end-to-end trade and border management procedures across multiple stakeholder groups.
3. Identified key inefficiencies affecting traders, C&F agents, transport operators, importers, exporters, and SMEs.
4. Evaluated multiple e-payment models and digital transaction options to support service modernization.
5. Generated actionable recommendations for digital service design, institutional coordination, and capacity development.
6. Provided stakeholders with a roadmap for transitioning from manual processes to more efficient, technology-enabled border operations.

Why This Project Matters

Efficient border procedures are essential for reducing trade costs, improving competitiveness, and facilitating economic growth. By identifying operational bottlenecks and assessing digitization readiness, this study laid the foundation for modernizing trade processes at one of Bangladesh’s most important land ports. The engagement demonstrates Inspira’s expertise in combining process analysis, stakeholder engagement, and digital transformation strategies to support more efficient and business-friendly trade ecosystems.

Project Snapshot