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Government to facilitate cement production
Kathmandu: The government will expand access road to 11 cement plants this year and supply electricity to eight plants within this fiscal, to facilitate cement production. According to the Ministry of Industry (MoI), five of the factories were selected for both the facilities.

The move gives continuation to the policy introduced by the government in fiscal 2008-09 to build necessary infrastructure like access road, electricity grid connection and drinking water for big industries from the budget. The government has earmarked Rs 550 million for electricity grid connection and Rs 300 million for expansion of access road for this fiscal.

“Access road will be expanded from factories to the limestone mines of the respective factories,” said Jeet Bahadur Thapa, joint secretary of MoI, adding, “The government this year will expand access road to the iron ore reserves of Ramechhap district from the budget of access road.”

The Department of Roads and Nepal Electricity Authority are the implementing agencies for the access road and electricity grid connection, respectively.

MoI called on big factories to submit proposals for the access road and electricity grid connection last fiscal 2013-14 and received numerous applications. The technical team from MoI conducted site inspections of the cement plants that submitted the proposals and recommended required facilities.

“First we will provide them access road and then electricity grid connection when they set up machines in the factory,” Thapa said, “Only those cement factories which produce clinker by using local limestone are eligible for the facility.”

Likewise, Dang Cement of Dang, Laxmi Cement of Kathmandu, and Maruti Cement of Siraha are selected for electricity grid connection. The cement plants selected for access road facility are Sonapur Cement of Dang, Bhardeu Cement, Nigale Cement of Dhankuta, Sarbottam Cement of Nawalparasi, Butwal Cement and Palpa Cement, as per MoI.

Joint Secretary Thapa, however, admitted that some of the plants that received both facilities last year are yet to start production. Projects selected for both facilities of access road and electricity grid connection are Ghorahi Cement of Dang, United Cement of Kathmandu, Rolpa Cement of Dang, Cosmos Cement of Dhanusa and Subha Shree Jagadamba Cement of Dang district.

The cement manufacturers, on the other hand, allege that the government has been delaying in building access road and providing electricity grid connection to the cement factories that are ready for production.

Dhruba Thapa, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association, said that the government allocated resource for the purpose is insufficient.”Majority of the access road projects are being constructed on multi-annual basis due to lack of resources,” Thapa said, adding, “And the plants that have already installed machines are yet to get electricity grid connection.”

Altogether 42 cement plants have been producing cement in the country and total annual production amounts to four million tonnes. It is reported that the cement plants have capacity of producing six million tonnes yearly but they are operating under capacity due to lack of electricity supply.

UAECEMENT.COM - Nov,17,2014



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