Displaying items by tag: Hetauda Cement Industries Ltd

Nepal: Matrika Yadav, the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, has offered support to Hetadua Cement at the inauguration of a work program at its plant. However, he said that any upgrades to the plant depending on other parties, according to the Republica newspaper. The state-owned company has made a profit in recent years after a period of decline.

Nepal: The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has taken action against seven cement producers that have broken its standards in the current financial year that runs to mid-July 2018. The bureau found defects in product declarations made by the industries, according to the Republica newspaper. The sanctioned cement companies were MJP Cement, Ganapati Cement, Hetauda Cement, National Cement, Supreme Cement, Himalayas Cement and Nepal Ambuja Cement. The bureau has suspended the license of MJP Cement and asked the other companies not to sell their products until the quality is restored.

The cement producers were found to be breaking the quality of their products, incorrectly declaring products and failing to meet technical requirements such as the compressive strength grade mandated by the Nepal Standard Regulations. The NBSM has asked all the companies to provide it with written clarification within 15 days of the inspection.

Nepal: The Hetauda Cement plant has started producing cement again following the lifting of an unofficial fuel blockade by India. The plant was shut after it could not import coal from India in the autumn of 2016. Hetauda resumed production on 11 February 2016, according to the Katmandu Post. Factory officials say the plant lost US$0.9m during the enforced closure.

Nepal: State-owned Hetauda Cement Industries Ltd (HCIL) has reported an accumulated loss of US$6.42m at the end of its 2014 financial year.

"We faced a loss of US$692,829 in 2011 - 2012 and US$95,251 in 2012 - 2013. Our annual loss increased to US$6.42m in 2013 - 2014," said Ramesh Shiwakoti, chief accountant of HCIL. "HCIL is facing a loss as we are focused on providing quality products, unlike privately-owned cement producers whose major thrust is on making profit."

HCIL pays its workers around US$251/month, while privately-owned cement plants reportedly pay around US$150/month. Although a HCIL spokesperson said that the company's loss can be partly attributed to its high wages, the workers said that the plants is making a loss due to lack of transparency and increasing political interference.