Kathmandu, December 27

Huaxin Cement — a Chinese government-owned entity — today signed a project investment agreement with Investment Board Nepal (IBN) to invest $140 million to set up a cement plant in the country.

Maha Prasad Adhikari, CEO of IBN, and Liu Jianguo, overseas development director of Huaxin Cement, had signed the agreement, according to IBN officials.

Following the project investment agreement, the IBN will submit the investment proposal of the company to the IBN board, which is chaired by the prime minister.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal of Huaxin Cement needs to be approved by the IBN board for the investment to be realised. The cement manufacturer has already obtained the limestone mining licence through competitive bidding and paid Rs 600 million for the mine located at Panikharka of Dhading district.

Huaxin Cement has submitted its plan to manufacture 3,000 tonnes of cement each day, which will be one of the largest capacity cement plants in the country.

In recent years, Chinese companies have been making investment in cement manufacturing in Nepal.

Earlier, the IBN had approved the FDI proposal worth $360 million made by China’s Hongshi Holdings Ltd that has joint venture with Nepali cement manufacturer Shivam Cement and it is all set to start production.

Foreign investors are attracted to make investment in Nepal as the demand for cement could increase rapidly as the government has announced plans of rapid urbanisation and hydropower development in the country. The government has also been promoting investment in this sector by providing the facility of road access to the mine and factory and electricity grid connectivity to the cement manufacturing plants.