The government-owned Hetauda Cement Industry is on the verge of closure. The Hetauda Textile Industry was closed earlier due to its inability to compete in the market. Now the cement industry is also facing the same fate.

The textile industry was closed 25 years ago due to management weaknesses and inability to compete with textiles imported from China and India. Hetauda Cement is also in financial crisis due to its inability to compete with private industries. The industry has been operated for a few days now. The industry currently has 1,400 metric tons of coal and some gypsum stone. Shivnarayan Sah, the general manager of the industry, said that the industry will operate only until there is stock as there is no money to purchase additional coal and gypsum stone.

‘Now the industry runs for only three-four days,’ he said, ‘It ran for only 11 days in the current fiscal year.’ The industry was operated for only 40 days in the fiscal year 081/082. General Manager Sah said that the industry could not be operated due to shortage of raw materials. ‘The industry lacks funds to purchase coal,’ he said, ‘The employees have not received their salaries and allowances for nine months.’

More than 65 employees who retired due to age limit have not even received their gratuity. The industry has been operating at a loss for seven years. In the fiscal year 074/75, the industry was able to make a profit of Rs 163.6 million. Since then, it has been facing continuous losses. Not only this year, but for the past four years, the industry has not been able to operate regularly for barely four months. The industry, which started commercial production in 2004, is in financial crisis as it has not been able to compete with the production of the private sector. According to the industry, it has to pay 1.26 billion rupees to various supplier companies, employees, etc. General Manager Sah said that the industry has yet to pay 488.7 million rupees to the Government of Nepal. The management claims that the industry has not been able to compete with cement industries run by the private sector due to the decrease in production and increase in costs due to old equipment. The industry is forced to sell and distribute cement at a price lower than the production cost. Due to this, the industry management has stated that it has not been able to cope with the financial crisis.

The industry has a daily production capacity of 750 tons of cement. It has been seven years since the industry has not produced according to its capacity. A senior technician of the industry said that it will be difficult to operate if the old model equipment of the industry is not replaced and new equipment is installed. ‘The industry has demanded Rs 1.6 billion from the government to install new equipment,’ he said, ‘the government has shown no interest in providing the money.’ The management has included three stages in the plant auditing for the operation of the industry. The first is to organize and operate the existing equipment, the second is to reduce unnecessary expenses in the industry, and the third is to include a long-term plan and send it to the ministry six years ago.

The cement industry, which has been facing financial problems, is in a dilapidated condition. It has even sold the ropeway. There is a ropeway about 20/21 kilometers long from Hetauda to Bhimphedi’s Bhaisekhani. Although it was used to transport limestone in the past, the ropeway was sold for about Rs 40 million as it had been unused for a long time and could not be reused. The industry has four limestone mines. The highest quality limestone is produced from the Jogimara mine in Dhading. 50 percent of its stone is suitable for making cement. However, this mine has been closed for a long time due to lack of renovation. There are three mines in Makawanpur: Okhare, Majhuwa and Bhainse. Currently, limestone is brought from the Okhare and Majhuwa mines.

The industry management has a plan to sell government land under the industry to make up for the loss and increase production by installing new technology. However, the Ministry of Industry has not given permission for the sale of land. The industry located in Lamsure, Hetauda-9, has planned to sell its vacant land. 12 bighas of land in the name of the industry are unused. The industry, which was profitable for two years from the fiscal year 2066/67 to 2067/68, went into loss again for three years from the fiscal year 2068/69 to 2070/71. The industry was profitable for four years from fiscal year 2071/72 to 2074/75, but has been operating at a loss continuously since then. Only 126 of the 655 employees of the Hetauda Cement Industry, established in 2033 BS with the investment of the Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank, are working. The lack of sufficient manpower has made it difficult to run the industry.