Displaying items by tag: Nepal

Nepal: Shivam Cement has received approval from the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) to launch an initial public offering. It will be the first cement producer in the country to become public, according to the Republica newspaper. Shivam Cement operates a 1250t/day plant and it has a captive limestone mine. The company also holds a 30% share in Hongshi-Shivam Cement, a Nepalese-Chinese joint venture that has started trial production at the Hongshi Cement near Dumkibaas in Nawalparasi district.

Nepal: Hongshi-Shivam Cement has started trial production at its new plant near Dumkibaas in Nawalparasi district. The joint venture between Nepal’s Shivam Holdings and Hong Kong Red Lion Cement No 3, a subsidiary of China’s Hongshi Group, plans to start commercial production by the end of June 2018, according to the Kathmandu Post. The Chinese company owns a 70% stake in the joint venture. The unit has a production capacity of 6000t/day.

In September 2017, the Investment Board of Nepal had signed a US$359m project investment agreement with Hongshi-Shivam Cement to build the plant. A 10km road was built to connect the site to the main local highway and another 22km road was built to link up a limestone quarry at Palpa. The company plans to double the unit’s production capacity to 12,000t/day by 2020.

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: Imports of cement fell by 24% year-on-year in the first half of the local financial year. Data from the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) shows cement worth US$3.94m was imported in this period compared to US$4.88m in the same period in the pervious year, according to the Republica newspaper. However, imports of clinker grew by 8% to US$102,000 from US$95,000. Most of this material came from India.

Nepal: Palpa Cement Industries has ordered a MVR 3350 C-4 mill from Gebr. Pfeiffer for its plant at Sunwal, in the district of Nawalparasi. The vertical roller mill has a drive power of 2150kW and is designed to grind 130t/hr of cement at 3000 Blaine and 100t/hr of blast-furnace cement at 3800 Blaine. Commissioning of the mill is planned for mid-2019. It is the fourth vertical roller mill order from Nepal for Gebr. Pfeiffer over the last year.

Nepal: Cement producers in the Parsa-Bara industrial corridor have started importing clinker from the Narayanpur railway station in Bihar. The change in the supply chain has followed disruption in clinker imports via the Raxaul- Birgunj border crossing on environmental grounds, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. The longer route has raised production costs due to higher transport fees.

Nepal: The Department of Supply Management and Protection of Consumers Interest (DSMPCI) has ordered cement producers to reduce their prices within three days. Following a survey the DSMPCI found that the price of cement had risen by 10 – 16% in recent weeks despite input costs, such as raw materials and transportation costs, only growing by 7 – 9%, according to the Republica newspaper. The department has issued its directive via the Nepal Cement Manufacturers' Association.

Nepal: Production at 13 cement grinding plants have been distrupted by a restriction on Indian clinker imports at Birgunj. Imports at the border town stopped on 22 December 2017 following complaints by local residents about air pollution, according to the Kathmandu Post. Cement plants in the so-called Parsa-Bara industrial corridor have resorted to using inventory supplies or clinker sourced from alternative locations.

Nepal: Investment Board Nepal (IBN) and Huaxin Cement have signed a Project Investment Agreement (PIA) for the Chinese company to build a cement plant. The agreement follows the Department of Mines and Geology’s decision to award a limestone mine in Dhading district to the Chinese cement producer, according to the Xinhua news agency. Huaxin Cement plans to spend US$140m towards building a plant with a cement production capacity of 3000t/day. The deal follows an agreement between the IBN and Hongshi Cement finalised in September 2017 to build a new plant for around US$360m.

Nepal: The Department of Mines and Geology has technically disqualified Nigeria’s Dangote Cement from applying for three limestone mine licences in an open bidding process. The Investment Board Nepal (IBN) had approved the investment in 2013 before passing the application to the mining department, according to the Republica newspaper. Department deputy director general Ram Prasad Ghimire claimed that Dangote's proposals lacked essential documents on the required skilled manpower and it was not considered qualified for the next financial proposal.

Dangote Cement had applied for three mines: two in Dhading and one in Palpa. However, China’s Huaxin and United Cements recently won two limestone mining licences. Previously, Dangote Cement purchased a limestone mine in Makawanpur that was later found to be a substandard. The Nigerian company has also faced opposition from local producers who have described the country as being self-sufficient in cement.