Rs 360m allotted to link cement factories to power supply
KATHMANDU, AUG 28 -
The Ministry of Industry (MoI) has decided to allocate Rs 360 million for providing electricity connections to nine cement factories under its infrastructural development programme for manufacturing industries.
The industries chosen for the government announced incentive are Shivan Cement, Dang Cement, Laxmi Cement, Rolpa Cement, Ghorahi Cement, United Cement, Maruti Cement, Sarbottam Cement and CG Cement, according to MoI officials. Though these factories had asked for the facility last year, they did not receive it then after the government could not announce a full budget which made it unable to release the necessary budget on time.
These nine industries have also received the facility of the construction of access roads. The ministry, a month ago, had announced the names of 14 other cement factories that received the facility of the construction of access roads under the government’s policy to promote manufacturing industries. Apart from these nine cement industries, the other cement factories that have already received the facility are Sonapur Cement, Bhardeu Cement, Makalu Cement, Nigale Cement and Palpa Cement.
“A total of 23 cement factories have been selected for the infrastructure development programme for the current fiscal year, out of which nine will receive funds for electricity connectivity while another 14, including the nine, also will get incentives to construct access roads,” said Industry Secretary Krishna Gyanwali.
Ministry officials said that as those nine industries had applied for both the facilities, they have been offered the dual incentives. The annual budget for the current fiscal year had allotted a sum of Rs 1.23 billion for the infrastructural development of cement industries.
Out of the total allotment, Rs 390 million will be spent on building access roads, Rs 360 for electricity transmission lines and sub-stations for cement factories which are under construction in different parts of the country and Rs 380 million will be used for the construction of special economic zones.
Jeet Bahadur Thapa, joint secretary at the ministry, said all these incentive packages had been approved by the National Planning Commission (NPC), and the ministry would now begin to work towards implementing the programme. He said the ministry would request the Division of Roads (DoR) and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for the construction of access roads and construction of transmission lines and sub-stations.
The facilities are meant only for those cement factories which produce clinker by using local limestone thus contributing to import substitution. In fiscal 2008-09, the government had announced infrastructural support to cement factories utilizing local raw materials with the objective of promoting mega industries.
Under the programme, the government promised to construct roads and drinking water facilities and lay electricity lines to the factory sites stating that it would encourage investors to make use of the country’s huge limestone reserves, thereby saving billions of rupees spent on importing clinker.
Cement producers had been urging the government to provide basic infrastructure stating that a huge portion of their investment has been going into developing basic facilities.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
