India’s Reliance Group, headed by Anil Ambani, has received clearance to build a cement plant in Nepal. The INR24.8bn (US$401.1m) cement works is expected to be constructed in central or eastern Terai.

Reliance currently operates 5.8Mta of installed capacity but plans to lift it to 15Mta in the next three years. In India the company is also building a further 5Mta greenfield plant in Maharashtra and is awaiting environmental clearance for its INR2.5bn works in Kutch, Gujarat. In addition, At Ukir and Bhoa villages, Reliance has proposed to set up a 5Mta works with a 75MW coal based captive power plant. It has submitted a detailed prefeasibility study and environment impact assessment to the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).