Nepal to revive textile factory established with Chinese assistance after 15 years

KATHMANDU, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Nepali government on Thursday announced that it was going to revive the closed Hetauda Textile Factory which established with the Chinese assistance in 1976. The state-owned factory, located at Hetauda town in southern Tarai, has remained closed since 2001 as it could not compete with cheap imported textiles and mismanagement on the part of the government. Prior to the closure, the factory used to consume 1,200 tons of cotton and was employing about 1,200 people. Nepalese Industry Minister Nabindra Raj Joshi announced at a press meet in Kathmandu that the state-owned factory would be brought into operation with a joint investment of the Nepali government, Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police. "The action plan for resuming the operation of the factory will be prepared within the next 15 days," he said. The minister said that the government planned to manufacture textiles necessary for dresses of students, security agencies and the civil servants in the first phase. According to the Industry Ministry, there will initial investment of 0.93 million U.S. dollars to revive the factory. The government plans to create a fund of 2.33 million U.S. dollars to run the factory in a full-fledged way. The resumption of the factory's operation is expected to reduce the cost of importing textiles for the government staffers working in state agencies which is over 18.6 million U.S. dollars a year, according to the Industry Ministry.