Govt starts process of transferring land ownership of Himal Cement

KATHMANDU:

The government has initiated the process of transferring ownership of land owned by Himal Cement, a state-owned enterprise which was previously scrapped, to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), and Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO).

At least 816.87 ropanis of land in Chobhar, 128.19 ropanis of land in Saukhel and 49 ropanis of land in Paanchkhal are under the ownership of Himal Cement. These plots could not be transferred to various government agencies as they were pledged as collateral by the cement factory while obtaining loans from state-owned NIDC Development Bank.

“We have just paid the due amount of Rs 128.20 million owed by Himal Cement to the bank and released the land,” a senior official of the Ministry of Finance told The Himalayan Times. “We will soon transfer the land to MoCS and FCGO and we have received the Cabinet’s nod to do so.”

Of the land registered in the name of Himal Cement, plots located at Saukhel and Paanchkhal would be handed over to FCGO. The ownership of land located at Chobhar, on the other hand, would be transferred to MoCS.

Although it is not known how the FCGO would use the land, the plot located at Chobhar would be used to build an inland container

depot (ICD) and exhibition hall of international standard.

The budget statement of 2014-15 had also said that preliminary work would be carried out this fiscal year to construct ICD and exhibition hall of international standard at Chobhar.

However, it is not known what portion of the 816.87 ropanis of land at Chobhar would be allotted to build the ICD and exhibition hall.

Earlier in September, the World Bank (WB), which is financing Nepal-India Trade and Transport Facilitation Project, had expressed deep dissatisfaction over the government’s inability to acquire land to build container freight station (CFS) on the premises of Himal Cement even after over almost one-and-a-half years of taking a formal decision in this regard.

The private sector has been demanding for establishment of CFS in Kathmandu for last three to four decades. But demand could not be fulfilled earlier due to lack of funds.

In the recent days, the private sector, especially the freight forwarders, had started expressing surprise over the lethargy shown by the government in making the land available even after allocation of a fund of $15.5 million by WB.

The WB has already warned of cancelling the CFS component if the land acquisition process is not completed by September 2015.

Source: THT