Displaying items by tag: Udayapur Cement

Nepal: Udayapur Cement has commenced a US$4.2m upgrade and capacity expansion of its cement plant at Jaljale. The work includes replacing the shell of its 20m rotary kiln by the end of February 2021 and installing a reinforcement suspension preheater system, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. It will expand the plant’s capacity by 38% to 0.4Mt/yr from 0.29t/yr. The plant’s current equipment dates to 1988. Company spokesperson Laxman Pokharel said "Since the machines are old, we face frequent problems." He added that this has led to increased costs.

The Nepal government has agreed to loan Udayapur Cement US$34.4m, 80% of the project’s budget.

Nepal: Udayapur Cement has appointed Gopi Neupane as its director general. He holds experience in the hydro-electric, health and education sectors, according to Khabarhub. The state-owned cement producer markets the ‘Gaida Cement’ brand.

Nepal: Udayapur Cement Industry has resumed clinker production after a closure period of over two months. The 800t/day cement plant was forced to close both production and sales due to government-mandated lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Himalayan Times newspaper. It has now resumed operation using social distancing rules.

Nepal: Udayapur Cement has started work on an upgrade to its 0.3Mt/yr integrated plant aimed at bringing its capacity to 0.4Mt/yr with an investment of US$92,000 from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies. Republica has reported that the company’s Sindhali mine has resources to supply 200 years’ production. “The company is self-sufficient in all raw materials except coal,” said Nawal Kishor Shah, Udayapur Cement general manager.

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: 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: Udayapur Cement Industry has resumed production at its integrated plant in Udayapur after a month-long upgrade period. The project cost around US$0.75m, according to the República newspaper. The state-owned cement producer used its own technical team for the maintenance although engineers from India were employed. Following the upgrade the unit has a production capacity of up to 900t/day.

Nepal: Regular power cuts have reduced production at the Udayapur Cement plant since mid-September 2017 leading to a loss of US$190,000. The cement producer says that it was doing ‘good business’ so far in the current financial year, according to the Rastriya Samachar Samiti news agency. The company was established in 1987 and it operates a cement plant at Jaljale in Udayapur. It produces cement under the brand name 'Gaida Cement.'

Nepal: The Nepalese Ministry of Industry intends to petition the Russian government for a US$11.5m grant to upgrade equipment at the Udayapur Cement Factory, the country's largest state-owned cement plant.

"The loan that we are looking for from the Russian government is solely to replace machine equipment parts," said Uma Kanta Jha, secretary of Ministry of Industry. Previously the ministry asked the Russian government for a grant for the Janakpur Cigarette Factory.

Key problems besetting the Udayapur Cement include a lack of raw materials, ageing machinery, overstaffing and mounting debts. The Nepalese government's procurement policy has been blamed for making it difficult to source raw materials from India, such as coal. Currently the factory has 549 permanent staff on its payroll. The plant incurred a loss of US$10.2m in 2010 - 2011 and has a cumulative loss of US$205m. The company last released audited financial results in 2004 - 2005.