Displaying items by tag: Arghakhanchi Cement

Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has agreed to supply ten industrial users, including cement producers, with an additional 151MW of electricity as part of a drive to increase domestic consumption. The cement producers concerned include Maruti Cement, Huaxin Cement, Hongshi Shivam Cement and Arghakhanchi Cement, according to the Republica newspaper. The other industrial users are mostly steel producers. In addition another 111MW is in the final stages of being allocated by the NEA to seven other industrial plants and a further 99MW has been identified for further distribution to industrial users. The government-supervised power supplier and distributor has identified around 500MW of wasted electricity supply due to low domestic consumption and a lack of transmission lines.

Nepal: A large number of cement plants are reported to have violated standard manufacturing practices and are selling products that are not up to international standards, according to the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology.

The national standards body said that 25% of factories were producing sub-standard products, based on the tests of samples and market inspections conducted in the last fiscal year that ended in mid-July 2019. Some of the larger manufacturers included in the 25% were Hongshi Shivam Cement, CG Cement and Arghakhanchi Cement. A further 14 smaller suppliers were also included.

Nepal: Arghakhanchi Cement has launched Arghakhanchi MP OPC Cement in new waterproof packaging. The cement producer says that the new packaging will protect the cement from moisture and prevent leakage of cement, according the Kathmandu Post. The new bags are also intended to ensure a standard weight for the product. The company plans to increase its production capacity from its plant at Mainahiya, Rupandehi to 60,000 bags/day from the end of 2017.

Nepal: Arghakhanchi Cement plans to spend US$38.5m to increase both its clinker and cement production capacities to 3000t/day by October 2017. At present the plant has a clinker capacity of 1200t/day and a cement capacity of 1000t/day, according to the Kathmandu Post. Managing director Rajesh Agrawal added that the company has signed a deal worth US$9.32m to order vertical roller mills from FLSmidth as part of the upgrade.

Local industrial groups Siddhartha, Murarka and Kedia hold stakes of 35%, 30% and 17.5% respectively in the cement producer. Uma Cement, an Indian company, owns the remaining 17.5% stake. Arghakhanchi Cement was originally known as Dynasty Cement.

Nepal: Arghakhanchi Cement has obtained a consortium loan pledge to finance the expansion of its cement plant from 1200t/day (0.4Mt/yr) to 3000t/day (1.0Mt/yr). The company expects to spend US$38.6m, including US$27m in consortium financing led by Nabil Bank. Other banks involved include Nepal Bank, NIC Asia Bank, Global IME Bank, Prime Bank and Century Bank.

The company's promoters, the Siddhartha Group, Murarka Organisation, Kedia Organisation and India's Uma Cement International, will invest US$11.6m in the expansion project.

When it is completed by the close of 2017 Arghakhanchi Cement will be the largest cement factory in Nepal. "If we don't increase our capacity and achieve economy of scale, we will vanish once big plants with foreign investment start producing cement," said Rajesh Agrawal, Managing Director.

Nigeria’s Dangote Cement, China’s Hongshi Cement and Huaxin Cement and India’s Reliance Cement have all received approval to start operations in Nepal. Their combined foreign direct investment amounts to US$1.45bn and their proposed output stands at 22,000t/day (7Mt/yr).

Nepal: Cement producers in Nepal are upgrading their plants in preparation for the start of operation by a number of foreign owned cement companies. Dhruba Thapa, the president of the Cement Manufacturers' Association of Nepal (CMAN), said that the imminent ‘invasion’ by foreign cement producers has led to unease amongst local producers, in comments to the Kathmandu Post

Dangote Cement from Nigeria, Hongshi and Huaxin from China and Reliance Cement from India have all been granted clearance to start operations in Nepal. Their combined foreign direct investment amounts to US$1.45bn and their proposed output stands at 22,000t/day.

Local projects include Cosmos Cement’s plan to build its first clinker plant. It is expected to start production in the second half of 2016. At present the cement producer operates two cement grinding plants with a combined capacity of 800t/day. It is also upgrading the capacity of these plants to a total of 2000t/day.

Arghakhanchi Cement has announced that it will nearly triple its capacity to 3000t/day by the end of 2017. At present the plant has a production capacity of 1200t/day. Agni Cement Industry has planned to set up a new plant with a daily capacity of 1200t/day. Currently, its capacity is 300t/day.

Domestic demand for cement is 5.5Mt/yr and production is 4.6Mt/yr according to CMAN. Domestic cement manufacturers claim that they have become able to meet 80% of the country's requirement with a capacity utilisation of 50 – 60%. However, foreign investors have said that there is unexplored potential demand for cement in Nepal as infrastructure development grows. Local producers have countered this claim, saying that foreign direct investment has been promoted by offering foreign investors more tax incentives than what domestic producers receive.

Nepal: Cement producers have suggested that consumers wait for cement prices to fall before they build new homes. Bishnu Prasd Neupane, managing director of Jagadamba Cement, made the comment at a forum organised and reported upon by Nepal Republic Media. He said that end users could benefit from the fall in the international price of crude oil. A drop in fuel prices is expected to cut transport and production costs. Overall, the price of construction materials could drop by 20%.

Tara Prasad Pokharel, general secretary of Cement Manufacturer's Association Nepal (CMAN), asked customers not to pay more than a transportation cost of more than US$1.4/bag or more than 20% dealer costs on top of factory prices. The retail price of cement has increased by more than 50% due to high transportation costs caused by fuels shortages.

"The price of diesel is expected to come down to US$0.55/litre from US$0.69/litre. It will obviously lower our cost of production," said Pashupati Murarka, promoter of Arghakhanchi Cement and also the president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). Use of diesel-run generators increases the price of cement by around US$0.74/bag at current oil prices. Use of the country's national grid increases is also expected to cut the cost of production significantly.