Kathmandu: One more cement industry is all set to start its production. Bishal Cement, the 32nd cement industry of the country, will start its operations from the third week of November.

“We have planned to manufacture cement by using clinker for the first two years. After that, we will be using limestone,” said Jayendra Chudal, executive director of Bishal Cement.

According to Chudal, companies manufacturing cement through limestone have daily production capacity of 3,700 metric tonnes, while those producing through grinding have 9,750 tonnes capacity. “We have acquired permission to manufacture 8,000 tonnes daily through limestone and 11,000 tonnes using clinkers.”

Seven companies received permission to manufacture cement using limestone and 31 through clinkers in the last fiscal year. Bishal Cement has said it will start manufacturing 400 tonnes of cement daily after Tihar. “We have developed our infrastructure in such a way that we will increase our production to 800 tonnes within eight months of our operation,” said Chudal.

The company is working to partner with a foreign company to produce cement from limestone. “We are in talks with two companies. By the time we start production, we will finalise the deal with one of the companies,” said Chudal.

The company has said its main focus will be on quality, as hydropower and infrastructure development in the country will increase demand in the days to come. Chudal said the company will make some savings from human resources and technology to focus on quality. “It is also necessary to raise awareness about cement uses among customers,” he said.

According to the company, it will manufacture OPC, PPC and Slag cements in its Close Circuit mill. “The process of cement manufacturing is changing with technology,” said SR Atal, managing director-technical department at Bishal Cement. “We will manufacture quality cement using latest technologies,” he said, adding that CPC cement is slowly displacing OPC.

Although the government has said that it will encourage companies that manufacture cements using limestone, issues related to it are still unsolved, said Chudal. “It is not possible to manufacture cement using limestone until the government addresses issues related to electricity, road and security,” he said.

source:The Kathmandu Post,1 Oct 2011