After the federal government reduced the land rent of the Special Economic Zone Authority (SEZ) Simara in this year's budget speech, the number of new industries being added to the SEZ has increased rapidly. After the government reduced the land rent of the SEZ from the previous Rs 20 per square meter to Rs 5 per square meter, nearly a dozen new industries are under construction in the SEZ premises this year alone. More than half of them have Indian and Chinese investors.

According to SEZ Site In-Charge Engineer Pappu Giri, currently under construction in the industrial premises is Nepovit Ceramics Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between India's AGL Group and Nepali investors. This industry, with an investment of Rs 500 crore, will produce tiles and sanitary ware.

Chemex Himalaya Industries, which has South Korean investors, will produce cosmetic products. Similarly, Rambo Granite Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Nepali and Indian investors, will produce granite.

Indo Agro, a joint venture between Nepali and Indian investors, is also currently under construction in the SEZ premises. Omkar Pvt. Ltd., which is being built entirely with Indian investors, will also produce granite. Gang Uing Bio Technology, a joint venture between Chinese investors, will produce raw materials for medicines. La De Kar Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Nepali and Chinese investors, is also under construction.

Om Mega Shree Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Indian investors, is building the infrastructure of the industry with preparations to produce diapers and sanitary pads. Hulas Keval Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture between Indian investors, is under construction with the aim of producing wires. ‘Ma Tara Pvt. Ltd.’, a joint venture between Indian investors, is building its industry with a plan to produce spices. Everest Fashion Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture with a plan to produce handicrafts and export them completely, is also currently under construction. Once these industries are built and operational, an additional 1,000 new workers will get full-time employment in the SEZ.

Seven industries have already been established and are operational in the SEZ. These include Pashupati Ceramics, which produces tiles, Brilliant Shoes Pvt. Ltd., which produces shoes, Laxmi Granite, Balaji Manufacturing, which produces fans, stoves, etc., Nepal Agro Tools, which produces agricultural equipment, Asian Vehicles, which is a Chinese-invested company that produces electric vehicles, and Bio Comp Nepal, a New Zealand businessman invested in by the World Bank, are in operation. These industries are providing direct employment to 700 people.

It is estimated that it will take a long time to add new industries to the SEZ as the land rent has decreased due to the increase in the number of industries and the previous rent rates were high. There are a total of 5 blocks from 'A' to 'E' in the SEZ premises, spread over 833 bighas. Of these, the largest, i.e. 343 bighas of land, 165 bighas of the ‘A’ block are currently under construction or in operation. 21 industries have been registered in the SEZ so far, including those that are currently operating and those that will be added.