Displaying items by tag: Nepal

Nepal: Udayapur Cement has urged the Nepalese government's Ministry of Finance to process its application for a loan of US$3.82m. The Kathmandu Post newspaper has reported that the producer plans to invest in an upgrade to its 800t/day-capacity Gaighat cement plant in Province No.1. The plant is reportedly unable to meet its capacity due to frequent issues with its 33-year-old equipment. The producer hopes that an upgrade will increase the plant's production capacity by 41% to 2.5m bags/yr. It also expects its expenditure on coal to fall by 25% as a result.

Director general Gopi Neupane noted the Gaighat cement plant's access to high quality limestone not available elsewhere in the country. He said "We will turn the factory into a profit-making enterprise if the additional investment is provided. We have huge scope for exporting cement to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (in India)."

Nepal: Palpa Cement Industries has exported cement produced at its 3000t/day Sunwal cement plant to India. Indo-Asian News Service has reported that the shipment consisted of 3000 bags of the company’s Tansen brand cement. The producer says that it will continue with daily despatches to India, subject to demand.

The Nepal government offers 8% subsidies to cement exporters which use Nepali raw materials.

Nepal: Residents of the Arghakhanchi, Palpa, Pyuthan and Rolpa hill districts of Lumbini Province have reported that increased contamination with residues from limestone extraction has made many traditional water sources unreliable. the Kathmandu Post newspaper has reported that Alpha Cement, BS Cement, Kanchan Quarries, Hongshi Shivam Cement, Palpa Cement, Sarbottam Cement, Satyawati Cement and Siddhartha Minerals operate a total of 10 mines in the affected districts. Springs reportedly took 10 years to recover following the closure of Arghakhanchi Cement’s Narpani quarry in 2012.

India: Ghohari Cement says that it has ignited the new kiln of its Laxmipur cement plant in Dang District. Shivam Cement assistant engineer Nilesh Chouhan said that kiln inlet temperature monitoring was underway on 18 February 2022.

Nepal: Huaxin Cement Narayani has ignited the kiln at its 1Mt/yr Dhading cement plant in Bagmati. Construction of the project started in 2019 but it was delayed by flooding, disputes over land ownership and the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic. China-based Huaxin Cement originally signed an agreement with the Investment Board Nepal in 2018 to build the plant for US$140m.

Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has agreed to supply ten industrial users, including cement producers, with an additional 151MW of electricity as part of a drive to increase domestic consumption. The cement producers concerned include Maruti Cement, Huaxin Cement, Hongshi Shivam Cement and Arghakhanchi Cement, according to the Republica newspaper. The other industrial users are mostly steel producers. In addition another 111MW is in the final stages of being allocated by the NEA to seven other industrial plants and a further 99MW has been identified for further distribution to industrial users. The government-supervised power supplier and distributor has identified around 500MW of wasted electricity supply due to low domestic consumption and a lack of transmission lines.

Nepal: China-based Hongshi Group has received clearance from the Nepal Rastra Bank to invest US$125m into Dang Cement. Hongshi Group owns an 85% stake in the cement producer, according to the Republica newspaper. The remaining 15% stake is owned by Shivam Cement. The investment will be used to build a 6000t/day production line at Dang Cement’s plant in Dang region. The project was previously approved by the Investment Board Nepal in late 2020 for commissioning in late 2023.

Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has completed and commissioned a switching station to supply power for Huaxin Cement and Vaidya Group’s upcoming Dhading cement plant in Rorang. The Republic newspaper has reported that, when operational, the plant will receive 20MW of power via the switching station. Two transmission lines with capacities of 33kV and 11kV connect the facilities.

The US$125m Dhading cement plant awaits commissioning following the completion of its construction in August 2021.

Nepal: The Cement Manufacturers Association of Nepal (CMAN) recorded average capacity utilisation across the local cement sector below 30% following the start of a national coronavirus lockdown that started in late April 2021. Despite the end of the Clockdown over the summer, demand is currently low due to an economic slowdown, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. It reported that three or four of the country’s 64 cement plants have shut down.

CMAN president Dhruba Thapa said, “There is a huge gap in output and demand in the market currently. Nepal's cement industry has a production capacity of 22Mt/yr, and this will rise to 25Mt/yr in the 2022 financial year. Demand reached around 9Mt in the 2021 financial year."

Nepal: Arghakhachi Cement has announced that it will issue general shares in an initial public offering (IPO) in the 2023 financial year. The exact date of the IPO is to be released later, according to the Republica newspaper. Separately, the cement producer has received certification from the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology to produce 43 grade Ordinary Portland Cement.