Nepal's Ministry of Industry identifies sites for clinker storage

Nepal’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has begun work to acquire land to improve transportation of imported clinker from India.

Rabi Shankar Sainju, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, said the ministry had identified land plots in three locations near Birgunj Inland Container Depot (ICD) to manage the dust emissions of the cargo.

The government plans to construct storage facilities around the ICD in Birgunj to unload clinker and fly ash. Currently, there are no arrangements to store the cargo, which is transported in open wagons.

The absence of storage facilities has forced cement industries to import the raw material by truck from the Indian states of Jharkhand and Odisha. This increases the import cost of raw materials significantly.