A team of technical experts from Dangote Group recently visited potential sites in Makawanpur and Dhading districts to study the feasibility of opening a cement factory there.
A technical team comprising of civil engineers, geologists and mine experts visited different sites in the district, according to K R Rao, team leader of director of Dangote Group´s Cement Production Division.
According to Rao, the team has sent limestone samples collected from the sites for laboratory tests. We will choose the project site and start land acquisition process within two months, he added.
The Nigerian business conglomerate plans to open a cement factory with daily capacity of 6,000 tons in Nepal.
Hikmat Thapa, chief of food production division of Dangote Group, said this is the largest group of experts that has visited Nepal since the registration of company in June last year.
According to the group, Nepal will be the 15th country for Dangote´s cement factory operations.
The government has already approved the group´s proposal to invest US$ 550 million to establish a cement factory. For the purpose, the group has registered ´Dangote Cement Nepal Private Limited´ at the Office of Company Registrar.
"We will start cement production by June, 2017. Our product will be of high quality as we will put in place high-tech quality control mechanism. Similarly, we are adopting ´vertical roller mill´ technology which is a modern and efficient technology," Rao told Republica.
Rao said the group has seen cement market in Nepal growing. "We expect the market to grow to 6 million tons a year by 2010," he added.
Nepal currently consumes 3.5 million tons of cement annually. It imports 1.5 million tons of cement every year. However, with big factories coming up, experts say the country will soon be able to start cement to neighboring countries.
“We are also eying the markets in Bihar and Utter Pradesh of India,” Rao said.
As the government has prioritized infrastructure development, mega projects like hydropower, road, airport and irrigation projects are coming up in different parts of the country. These projects are likely to propel demand for cement and other construction materials in the near future.
Officials of Dangote Group said they have already started the process to procure cement plant for Nepal. They also said they would soon acquire license to operate limestone mine.
Investment being made by Dangote Group in Nepal is one of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country´s manufacturing sector.
Dangote Group´s technical officials have not yet decided alternative power supply for the proposed plant. "Though our initial plan was to invest in hydropower project, we have aborted it as it takes lot of time to develop. We are thinking of investing coal or diesel-fed plants to arrange stable power supply," Rao said.
The proposed factory needs 35 MW of uninterrupted power supply.
Dangote´s technical team returned to Nigeria on Wednesday after wrapping up their five-day study trip.
Dangote Group is credited for expanding cement production in Nigeria. Nigeria produced 32 million tons of cement in 2014, compared to 2 million tons in 2002. Dangote alone produced 25 million tons in 2014.
Along with cement, Dangote has factories producing sugar, salt refinery, pasta and noodles, among others, in different countries. It is also involved in real estate business. Aliko Dangote, the richest man in African continent and 23rd in Forbes´ billionaire list, is the owner of Dangote Group.
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