Nepal: The government will start certifying domestic brands of cement with quality grades by early 2017. Cement produced by local companies will be certified under three quality categories: 33-grade, 43-grade and 53-grade cement, according to the Himalayan Times. At present both domestically manufactured Ordinary Portland Cement and Portland Pozzolana Cement are labelled as 33-grade cement as the government provision doesn't allow producers to label their brands higher than grade 33. However, large-scale projects require higher grades of cement that have to be imported.
"We are in the last stage of finalising the draft of quality certification for domestic cement brands," said Bishwo Babu Pudasaini, director general of Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM). Once NBSM finalises a quality certification draft, it will be sent to Nepal Standard Council (NSC) for final approval.