LHASA — A major China-Nepal border port at Jilung, a county in Southwest China’s Tibet autonomous region, reopened on Oct 13 after it was disrupted by the earthquake that hit Nepal in late April.

The road leading to the port finally reopened after months of repair, allowing the port to operate once more, Sun Lijun, head of the port’s management committee, said.

He predicted trade at the port will see explosive growth after a huge fall in border trade following the quake.

Nepal has been Tibet’s largest trade partner since 2006.

The port, about 130 km away from Nepalese capital Katmandu, used to be the largest port linking the two countries, but it gradually lost its clout due to weak infrastructure. At the end of last year, the port was expanded to boost bilateral economic and tourism development.

In 2014, the foreign trade volume of Tibet dropped by nearly 33 percent year-on-year, largely due to a major landslide in Nepal that disrupted road traffic between Tibet and the Tatopani Port in Nepal from August to October.