Displaying items by tag: Nepal

Nepal: Arghakhanchi Cement, based in Bhairahawa, is set to begin commercial production from 13 December 2014. The plant has a total capacity of 1200t/day of clinker and will employ 600 locals.

Siddhartha Group, Murarka Group and Kediya Group hold large stakes in the cement factory, with a minority stake held by a foreign investor. Rajesh Agrawal, director of Arghakhachi cement, said, "Targeting large-scale construction projects, we will produce OPC."

It has been reported that the plant will operate at 90% capacity utilisation, made possible by the installation of a captive high capacity diesel plant.

Arghakhanchi cement has set up three mines for limestone in Narapani and Khanchikot, both in Arghakhanchi district and Jonchha, Palpa district. According to Murarka, the plant was readied for operation five months ago and is only awaiting Nepal Standards accreditation from the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology before operation can begin.

With cement plants rapidly coming online, Nepalese media reports that the country is steadily becoming self-reliant in terms of cement supply. The total consumption in 2013 was 4Mt but this is expected to rise along with large-scale infrastructure developments in the coming years.

Nepal: Sona Cement has been awarded the 'Proven Low Alkaline Content' accreditation by Nepal Environment and Scientific Services (NESS) NS Accreditation laboratory. According to a statement from Sonapur Cements, the accreditation will make it the first and only Low Alkaline Content Clinker and Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) cement producer in Nepal.

Sonapur Cements has a plant in Dang, from which it produces different kinds of high grade and low alkaline content cement under the trademarks of Sona, Sonashree, Sonatech and Sonapur Cement.

Nepal: Cement producers have reported that sales have risen by 10% year-on-year in 2013, according to the Nepal Cement Manufacturers' Association (NCMA). The country's cement demand has soared with the increasing construction of dams, bridges and housing projects.

"If you look at the overall capacity of the cement industry, demand can be fulfilled by domestic production. But some big projects have been importing cement and domestic products account for 85% of the total consumption in the country," said Tara Pokharel, general secretary of NCMA.

Nepal: Dangote Group has asked the government of Nepal to help it find land to build a cement plant with an investment of US$800m. The Nigerian-based cement producer announced that it has been looking at Dang, Makwanpur and Dhading districts as possible locations following a meeting between Dangote's CEO KR Rao and the Nepalese Finance Minister Shankar Prasad Koirala.

Dangote has asked the Nepalese government to provide 30MW of power for the project. It intends to generate another 30MW for the plant by using a captive power plant.

In late 2013 the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) gave clearance for Dangote to invest in a cement plant in Nepal. Dangote will spend US$550m the first phase of its investment plan in Nepal.

Nepal: CG Cement Industry, a subsidiary of the Chaudhary Group, plans to enter the domestic cement market with the launch of its CG Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) at the end of December 2013. Trial production runs are already underway at the plant in Dumbikas, Nawalparasi district. The plant has an OPC production capacity of 1500t/day.

"We will ship our products to the market after completing some government procedures," said Varun Chaudhary, executive director of the Chaudhary Group. He added that the cement will arrive in stores after receiving certification from the government. CG also plans to establish a mine and cement plant in Palpa with a US$137m investment. The Palpa unit will produce clinker destined for cement production at the Dumbikas plant. Currently the Dumbikas plant sources its clinker from local producers and Indian imports.

Since 2010, Nepal's cement imports have declined due to increased domestic production. According to Chaudhary, there are now 50 grinding units and 70 cement brands in the country. Cement demand in Nepal is estimated at 4Mt/yr, 70% of which is fulfilled by domestic supply.

Nepal: The Nepalese Ministry of Industry (MoI) has allocated US$3.3m towards providing electricity connections to nine cement factories under its infrastructural development programme for manufacturing industries.

According to the Kathmandu Post, the cement plants chosen for the grant are Shivan Cement, Dang Cement, Laxmi Cement, Rolpa Cement, Ghorahi Cement, United Cement, Maruti Cement, Sarbottam Cement and CG Cement.

"A total of 23 cement factories have been selected for the infrastructure development programme for the current fiscal year, out of which nine will receive funds for electricity connectivity while another 14, including the nine, also will get incentives to construct access roads," said Industry Secretary Krishna Gyanwali.

The allocation follows the announcement in July 2013 of government plans to spend US$4m on building access roads to 14 cement plants as part of a wider US$11.3m infrastructure development scheme for the local cement industry. Cement plants that produce clinker using local limestone are eligible for the scheme.

Nepal: The Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology (NBSM) has closed two cement plants, Butwal Cement Mills and Shubha Shree Jagadamba, for manufacturing and selling substandard products. It has also threatened to remove 16 other cement plants from the market for not acquiring the Nepal Standard (NS) mark.

"We initiated action against these factories after their products failed to meet the standard," said NBSM Director General Ram Aadhar Sah. The NBSM standard requires that cement should have a strength of 16MPa within three days of setting, 22MPa within seven days and 33MPa within 28 days. Products from Butwal Cement Mills and Shubha Shree Jagadamba were found to have strengths below these levels.

The 16 factories facing the threat of a ban include CG Cement, Rolpa Cement, Arniko Cement, Ghorahi Cement, MJP Cement, Maruti Cement, Kailash Cement, Star Cement, Krishna Cement, KP Cement, Shree Cement, Om Cement, Eastern Cosmos Cement, International Cement and others.

Nepal: The Nepalese government has released plans to spend US$4m on building access roads to 14 cement plants. According to the Katmandu Post it is part of a US$12.5m industrial promotion policy to build roads, electricity transmission lines and sub-stations for cement plants across the country.

"Only those cement factories that produce clinker by using local limestone will receive the facility," said Industry Secretary Krishna Gyanwali. The government plans to complete construction of access roads for five cement factories - Ghorahi Cement, Rolpa Cement, United Cement, Shivam Cement and Nigale Cement - within the current fiscal year.

Atmaram Murarka, president of the Cement Manufacturers' Association, commented that previous government infrastructure development upgrades had not occurred. The government originally announced the scheme in the 2008 – 09 fiscal year.

Nepal: Amid cement manufacturers' claims that Nepal has become self-reliant in terms of cement production, cement imports have actually risen by 15.5% in the first 10 months of the country's current fiscal year, which runs until 15 July 2013.

In the review period, Nepal imported cement worth US$34.6m, against the imports worth US$30.0m in the same period a year earlier, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre statistics. Over the period, the country also saw seven new cement factories commissioned or announced.

According to Aatma Ram Murarka, former president of the Nepal Cement Manufacturers Association (NCMA), the imports went up because of the ongoing development projects with foreign investment. "In case of projects with foreign investment, the government has provided customs, tax and VAT waivers on cement imports from India," said Murarka.

Murarka said that domestic manufacturers have repeatedly demanded that the government roll back the provision because they say that local production can meet the market demand. "The government hasn't reviewed it seriously," he said, adding that projects being undertaken by Nepali contractors were, however, using domestic products.

Nepal: Ghorahi Cement has launched its Sagarmatha brand cement. Director Aditya Sanghai said, "By manufacturing high grade cement in the country, we aim to substitute imports from India and China. Our goal is to substitute imports of cement and clinker worth more than US$100m/yr."