Displaying items by tag: Nepal

Nepal: The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) has temporarily banned several brands of cement following tests in which they failed to reach minimum standards set by the government. The bureau has required cement producers to recall the affected brands as ‘soon as possible,’ according to the República newspaper.

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Pozzolanic Portland Cement (PPC) Super Advance and Infratech cement produced by Shree Araniko Cement, Reliance Super Shakti and Reliance Cement produced by Reliance Cement and PPC Kalash Gold Cement produced by Shree Cement have been banned for failing to meet compressive strength level standards. In addition the PPC brand of Bajra Shakti, Tri Shakti Supper and JBC cement produced by Jaya Bageshwori Cements, PPC brand of Yeti, Rock Strong and Gaurav Cement produced by Jay Mangalmaya Cements have been banned for exceeded the 28% insoluble residue level set by the government.

Nepal: Shubhashree Agni Cement Udhyog has placed an order for a Loesche Mill LM 35.2+2CS for the cement grinding section of its 700t/day integrated plant being built at Jaluke-6, district Arghakhachi. The order is Loesche India’s first in Nepal.

The order scope includes a mill fan and metal detector. The mill, designed for grinding Portland Slag Cement, will produce at a capacity of 62t/hr with a fineness of 3500 Blaine. The mill will also produce Ordinary Portland Cement and Portland Pozzolana Cement at capacities of 60t/hr and 76t/hr respectively. The mill will be delivered in a period of 10 months.

Other installations of the LM 35.2+2CS have been in operation at Deccan Cement, Bhavanipuram, since 2001, and to Sri Balaha Chemicals’ Hindupur plant for grinding slag at 4000 Blaine.

Loesche India has sold over 110 vertical roller mills for the grinding of raw material, coal and cement to various clients in India and South Asia. It is based in Delhi, National Capital Region.

China: Huaxin Cement’s sales revenue has fallen by 11% year-on-year to US$860m in the first half of 2016 from US$968m in the same period of 2015. Its net profit fell by 91% to US$1.21m from US$13.3m. The cement producer reported falling sales in most regions, with the exception of Tibet and Henan. Notable decreases in sales revenue occurred in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Guangxi. The company blamed the result on falling prices caused by production overcapacity and ‘vicious’ market competition.

Outside of China the company has started operation at its 300t/day Gayur plant and it is building a 0.5Mt/yr grinding plant at Dangara in Tajikistan. Planning work has also been conducted at a 2800t/day cement plant at Narayani in Nepal and a 2500t/day cement plant at Aktobe in Kazakhstan.

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: Shivam Cement has received an ISI certificate, allowing it to export cement to India. The company said in a statement that it is now one of the few cement producers in Nepal that can export cement to India.

Nepal: Hongshi Shivam Cement, a Nepal-China joint venture company, has started building a cement plant at Sardi in Nalwalparasi. China’s Hongshi Holding Group has invested US$336m or 70% of the financing for the project. The rest of the funds have come from a local partner, according to the Kathmandu Post. The cement plant will have a production capacity of 6000t/day and is expected to start production in 2017.

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: 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.