Kathmandu, 17 August
The government has begun preparations to resume operations at Udayapur Cement Industry.
As part of the preparations, the Cabinet has renewed the licence to extract limestone for the state-owned cement factory. The licence had been cancelled in September 2024 during the tenure of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
In a letter sent to Udayapur Cement Industry on February 13, 2025, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies had informed the company that its limestone extraction licence had been cancelled and removed from departmental records.
The current government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah has now moved to revive the industry and has renewed its limestone extraction licence.
The Cabinet decided on July 2 to renew the licence. Two decisions were taken for this purpose.
First, the Cabinet approved the Department of Mines and Geology to reissue the previously cancelled licence for the extraction of limestone and red soil to Udayapur Cement Industry Limited under Section 12(3) of the Mines and Minerals Act, 1985.
Second, the Ministry of Finance will provide Rs 7,497,331.95 in outstanding dues that Udayapur Cement Industry owes to the Department of Mines and Geology.
This means the government has decided to cover the outstanding amount owed by Udayapur Cement Industry to the department as part of the process of reviving the factory.
According to sources, the Ministry of Finance has already provided the amount to the Department of Mines and Geology in line with the Cabinet decision.
The government is now preparing to appoint a general manager and operate the industry at full capacity. Udayapur Cement Industry currently has a production capacity of 800 metric tonnes per day.
Built in 1987 with financial and technical assistance from the Japanese government, Udayapur Cement Industry became Nepal’s largest cement company in fiscal year 2016/17.
The industry is located in a forest area in Jaljale, Triyuga Municipality-11, Udayapur. Infrastructure was built to transport the limestone required for production from Sukoura in the northern part of Udayapur through a ropeway.
The government is now preparing to bring the cement industry, which has been described as one of the largest of its kind in Asia, back into full-capacity operation.
