Nepal: higher-grade cements to be certified soon

To date Nepal has been unable to certify cement produced in the country that is higher than grade 33, but as the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) is preparing to certify grades 43 and 53, the country is now about to become self-sufficient in higher-grade cement. This is expected to reduce cement imports and give Nepalese producers the chance to compete for projects that they were prevented from applying to in the past.

To enable this use of domestic product, NBSM is going to amend its certification provisions of 1995 within a few months, informed Bishwo Babu Pudasaini, director general of NBSM. At present, NBSM does not have a provision to certify cement graded higher than 33, but the cement manufacturers in the country have long been claiming that the local factories are producing higher-grade cement.

“Due to lack of certification provision, cement producers are not allowed to label their cement higher than grade 33,” said Bishnu Neupane, chairman and managing director of Saurabh Group of Companies, one of the cement manufacturers in the country.

Nepali cement manufacturers have said that after the NBSM starts certifying 43 and 53 grade cement, the country will be self-reliant in cement.

Reportedly, Nepali cement manufacturers have been barred from supplying cement for development projects as the quality of the cement (43 or 53 grade) is also clearly mentioned in the procurement specification. “Because of this, Nepal has to import cement from India for such development projects despite having the capacity to produce cement within the country,” said Mr Neupane.

The Ministry of Industry (MoI) had directed NBSM to revise the standards of construction materials, including cement, in the aftermath of the earthquake for construction of quake-resilient structures. According to Mr Pudasaini, “NBSM will submit the amendment to the certification provision to the MoI by next month.”

Cement manufacturers, optimistic with the amendment to the certification, have suggested the NBSM to look into other certification criteria as well.

According to Nepal Cement Manufactures’ Association (NCMA), there are altogether 46 cement factories in the country. Of these, 14 facilities produce clinker, with half of the plants using rotary kilns while the remainder produce clinker in vertical shaft kilns.