THE Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) is all set to approve the investment proposal of the Dangote Group to establish a cement factory in Nepal. It will be the first proposal to be approved by the IBN since its establishment two and a half years ago. Eight months ago, the Dangote Group, one of Nigeria’s most diversified business conglomerates, had approached the IBN with an investment proposal of US$ 800 million to set up a cement plant in Nepalð The IBN has completed all the preliminary work including a study of the proposal of the group and has concluded that it is a serious investor. The IBN is now prepared to allow the foreign company to expand its investment project in Nepal. “The next board meeting of the IBN will give the formal approval to the group which will pave the way for the company to initiate the project implementation,” said Radhesh Pant, chief executive officer (CEO) of the IBN. An IBN board meeting on Feb 13 had accepted the company’s foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal and had also formed a committee led by Pant to assess the proposal. The committee comprised Dhurba Lal Rajbansi, director general of the Department of Industry, and Sarabjeet Prasad Mahato, director general of the Department of Mines and Geology (DoMG)ð Pant said the committee submitted its report to the board a month ago by approving the project proposal, and its final endorsement will be done by a board meeting. Mukunda Poudel, joint secretary at the IBN, said Chairman of the Cabinet Khil Raj Regmi had also approved the proposal in his capacity as IBN chairman a week ago. “Following the endorsement of the proposal by the chairman, the proposal will now be forwarded to the IBN board meeting,” he said. “I have placed the project’s proposal as the first item on the agenda.” He said the board meeting would be held next week if things go as planned. Dangote Group President and Chief Executive Aliko Dangote is ranked by Forbes magazine as the world’s 76th richest person. Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, the group’s Dangote Cement is the largest cement producer in Africa. With a net worth of US$ 12 billion, Dangote is also the richest person in Nigeria. Most of his net worth lies in publicly traded Dangote Cement, which operates in 14 African countries, according to Forbes magazine. IB CEO Pant said the IBN decided to move ahead with Dangote’s proposal as the country needs large cement factories for large infrastructure projects, and that the board found Dangote to be a genuine investor which can benefit the country in several ways. Meanwhile, the company is seeking to procure a licence for mines in the country for procuring limestone, which is the major raw material for cement and clinker production. “As per the government law, the company has to either get a licence for new mines or purchase existing ones from private companies,” said Pant, adding the Board had been helping the Nigerian investor in its process to procure a licence for a mine. The IBN said that by the time the company’s proposal is approved by its board meeting, it will have obtained a licence. “Once the proposal is endorsed by the board meeting, Dangote will have to register its company at the Company Registrar’s Office and begin implementing the project. As per the company’s preliminary planning, the group has expressed interest in setting up a plant in Surkhet district in western Nepal. Though scores of investors from across the globe have been in frequent touch with the IBN expressing their desire to establish investment projects in Nepal, Dangote is the first one to approach it formally. Though the IBN has been holding negotiations with three foreign hydropower developers, GMR Energy and Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam from India and SN Power from Norway, Dangote’s proposal is the only investment commitment under FDI that the IBN has received since its establishment. “Once approved, it will be the first fast-tracked project from the IBN,” added Pant.
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