Kathmandu, March 1
A two-day Nepal Trade Summit, organised by India's SteelMint Group to discuss the challenges and prospects of cement, steel, and coal business in Nepal, started here today. The speakers of the opening session of the conference remarked Nepal as a 'virgin land' for investment and urged domestic and foreign investors to take advantage of this opportunity.
Addressing the opening session, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Narayan Kaji Shrestha said that the government has given high priority to prosperity and development and added that the construction of necessary physical infrastructure will be accelerated in the near future. "There is a great opportunity for the construction materials industry in Nepal," he said.
Similarly, Madhu Marasini, secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supply, informed that the government is going to review the trade policy in order to benefit from the export potential. Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) is being revised, in which cement, iron, and steel have been listed as potential export items. The government has arranged a cash subsidy of up to eight per cent for the export of clinker, cement, steel, and other exportable goods.
Stating that the government-owned cement industry will be operated at full capacity with the possibility of export, Secretary Marasini shared that the government has agreed to bear up to 75 per cent of the cost of construction of access roads and transmission lines necessary for the steel and cement industries. He also said that big markets like China and India, which account for 65 per cent of the global cement consumption, offer plenty of opportunities for the Nepali cement industries and added that 14 out of the top 20 countries that consume cement are in South Asia.
Similarly, Pradeep Kumar Shrestha, former chairman of the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries and vice-chairman of Confederation of Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also remarked Nepal as a virgin land of opportunities adding that the potential of the construction materials industry is good in the country as the government has also emphasised on the construction sector.
Rajendra Malla, chairman of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce, urged domestic and foreign companies to establish industries in public-private partnerships and emphasised in establishing industries based on natural resources. Stating that the high interest rate of banks is the major problem at present, he opined that public-private partnerships will reduce the size of bank loans and get rid of the problem of high interests. He also shared that there is a potential for green energy and hydropower in Nepal, alongside availability of cheap labour.
He also stressed that the industry should be opened only keeping in mind the potential of the national and international markets. "If the licence for the industries is distributed in such a way that the production capacity is more than the market demand, there will be serious problems in the future," he added.
The two-day conference attended by more than 250 delegates will discuss the changing dynamics of the global steel market, the scenario of the Nepali steel and cement industries, options for raw material sources for the industries here, and the price scenario of major raw materials required for steel production.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 2, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.