Kathmandu, July 19

The land acquisition process of the seven proposed industrial estates has been expedited as per the government’s plan to establish one industrial estate in each proposed province. The Ministry of Industry (MoI) today said that the government obtained land certificates of four industrial estates in the previous fiscal. The identified land will be registered in the name of Industrial District Management Ltd (IDML), a public enterprise under the MoI.

The MoI has sought the Cabinet’s nod to acquire land for industrial estates in two provinces and one is in the stage of feasibility study.

Industry Minister Som Prasad Pandey, today, said that the government will start developing the infrastructure where the land acquisition process has been completed from this fiscal. The fiscal budget for 2016-17 has earmarked fund for detailed project report (DPR) and infrastructure development in industrial estates. Minister Pandey had taken the initiative to develop industrial estates in the seven proposed provinces eyeing the country’s intermediate plan to adopt a federal structure of governance.

The new industrial estates will give top priority to the industries that use raw materials produced in Nepal, according to Minister Pandey. “We have to focus on high value addition and the industries that use raw materials produced within the country could be competitive in exports as well.”

Currently, there are 11 industrial estates and one special economic zone (SEZ) operational in the country. The SEZ has been set up especially targeting export-oriented industries and 75 per cent of products manufactured in the zone need to be exported. But, there are no such mandatory provisions for the factories established in the industrial estates. All the 11 industrial estates were established 54 years ago. “Pace of industrialisation has stalled for five decades. Now we have to work hard to bring a revolution in industrialisation in the country and be competitive in production,” the minister said.

Minister Pandey laid emphasis on industrialisation, which is vital for a sustainable and inclusive economic growth through employment generation for youths. He also talked about linking small and medium enterprises in the value chain of the big industries going to be established in the industrial estates.

The Ministry of Industry has declared the next 10 years, beginning this fiscal, as ‘Industrialisation Decade’. It has a target to create jobs for at least one million youths in the industrial sector trough massive industrialisation during the period.

Minister Pandey was speaking at a programme organised by the MoI on the progress review of the commitments made by the minister after assuming office.

In the programme, MoI Secretary Surya Prasad Silwal informed that crucial bills and policies related to the industrial sector are in the offing. “Industrial Enterprise Bill and Special Economic Zone Bill are set to get approval from the Parliament,” he said, adding, “We have also been doing the groundwork for formulation of an umbrella Intellectual Property Policy and Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Bill.”