Nepal to implement higher grade cement standards

On July 11, relevant media reported that in order to improve the competitiveness of domestic cement, the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Measurement (NBSM) will promulgate and implement the technical specifications of 43 and 53 higher-grade cement, and has issued relevant certification policies and procedures to provide legal basis for relevant enterprises to produce and certify higher-grade cement. Relevant enterprises can apply for certification to the Bureau of Standards and Measurement, and then subject their products to technical testing, so that they can use the corresponding cement grade if they meet the quality parameters. Previously, the Nigerian law only stipulated 33 grade cement, and the technical specifications of 42 and 53 grade cement were blank. Dhurba Raj Thapa, chairman of the Association of Cement Producers

in Nepal, said that domestic cement producers were encouraged by the above policies and would apply for higher grade cement certification as soon as possible. Nepal imported 24 billion rupees of cement from India in fiscal year 2017/18, which decreased to 12 billion rupees in January-October of fiscal year 2018/19. Local enterprises said that in the future, domestic cement will gradually replace imports, and the country will achieve self-sufficiency in cement.