Displaying items by tag: Nepal

Nepal: The government plans to prioritise cement as a major export. It made the announcement as part of a presentation to parliament for the 2019 – 2020 financial year, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. However, Dhruva Thapa, president the Nepal Cement Producers' Association said that the government needs to cut taxes on the cement industry to make exports competitive.

Nepal: Cement producers including Narayani Cement, Kalash Cement and Bishwokarma Cement have reported damage from a heavy thunderstorm that has hit the south of the country. At least 30 people were killed in the bad weather and other 600 people were injured, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper.

Umesh Chandra Thakur, manager at Narayani Cement, said the storm had knocked down walls, a roof and power lines at the plant, leading to a halt in production. Kalash Cement also reported that the roof of its plant had been blown off. The storm has also caused widespread disruption to the electricity distribution system in Bara and Parsa districts.

Nepal: IME Group plans to build a US$90m cement plant at Chormara of Nawalparasi. The unit is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2024, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. This will follow one year of preliminary work, one year for fund raising and the next two years for construction. The plant will mine limestone from a quarry in the Madanpur and Sisdi Rural Municipalities of Palpa district. The quarry will be 25km from the designated plant site. The mine has 18.7Mt of limestone according to a report by Investment Board Nepal.

Nepal: Dhruba Raj Thapa, president of Cement Manufacturer Association of Nepal (CMAN), has warned that the industry is worried about new investments in cement production given that the country has become self sufficient in the commodity. Clinker imports have stopped due to increased domestic production, according to the Republica newspaper. He added that cement produced locally is sufficient to meet local demand until 2029. He then warned that if investment in the sector continues producers might have to reduce their production capacity by half.

Data from the Department of Industries shows that 114 cement factories, both government-owned and private, have been registered so far with an estimated investment of over US$1.8bn. However, Tara Prasad Pokharel, the general secretary of CMAN, said that only 68 registered industries are currently in operation.

Nepal: Sajan Devkota has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Shivam Cements. He takes up the post on 15 March 2019, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. Devkota holds 22 years of corporate experience with companies including Nestlé India, Nepal Lever, Varun Beverages, Nebico Biscuits and Chaudhary Group. He has been associated with Shivam Cements since 2015.

Nepal: Udayapur Cement’s production is being reduced due to power cuts. The plant has a production capacity of 800t/day of clinker but at times it has been reduced to only just 100t/day, according to the Republica newspaper. The cement producer says that the cuts have cost it over US$0.4m.

The electricity outages have also damaged machinery such as gears in cement-packaging equipment and raised general costs through repeated start-ups. The unit suffered 62 power cuts from 15 January to 2 February 2019 lasting a total of 23 hours. As many as six stoppages in a single day have been reported.

The Nepal Electricity Authority supplies electricity to the plant. It has blamed the ‘incompetence’ of officials at a substation.

Nepal: Dhrubaraj Thapa, the chairman of the Nepal Cement Producers’ Association, says that the country has become self sufficient in cement production. Local producers are expected to start exporting cement in the next financial year, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. The country produced 9Mt of cement in the 2017 – 2018 financial year from a production capacity of 13Mt/yr.

Nepal: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has laid a foundation stone of a dry port project being built at Chobar near Kathmandu. The port is being built on an 11.77 hectare site allocated by Himal Cement, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The project has a cost of US$13.3m. It is scheduled for completion in mid-2020. Once operational the new dry port is expected to relieve pressure on the Birgunj dry port.

Nepal: Surendra Prasad Paudel has resigned as the general manager of Udayapur Cement following his appointment as the head of the Nepal Oil Corporation. Paudel became the head of the cement producer in February 2018, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. The chartered accountant improved the financial situation at the company, reporting a profit in the last financial year and clearing debts.

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.