Kathmandu, February 8
Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal has said that a chemical fertilizer factory should be set up using hydropower.
In a discussion held at the Ministry of Agriculture today, she said that all industries and factories should be run using hydropower for the long term and also for the benefit of the nation.
She said that the energy consumed in the country as energy should be the energy produced from hydropower.
Minister Bhusal said, ”We, the patriotic citizens, should put the interest of the nation first. Let’s seek profit and trade within this. I have a humble request.”
Stressing on the need to move towards setting up a factory using hydropower, she said, ”We are ready to provide electricity as per the requirement. We are also ready to provide electricity at the cost of operating the hydropower project.”
Minister Bhusal said that the Ministry of Energy would like to assure that the cost of fertilizer production will not go up due to energy.
Emphasizing the need to use domestically produced energy rather than domestically produced gas, she said, ”We need to think carefully about future generations, sustainable development goals, and our commitment to the world before we decide to set up an industry based on gas at immediate cost.”
Recalling the establishment of the Investment Board for the economic development of the
country, she said that the whole world was engaged in the reduction of petroleum products by increasing the use of renewable and clean energy.
She said that the Board of Investment should be serious about the technology discouraged by other countries by bypassing clean energy and electricity.
Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Mahendra Ray Yadav stressed the need to make the country self-reliant in manure and said that everyone should help in solving the national problem of manure shortage. She said that if the manure is produced from electricity generation, it will be self-sufficient.
She said, ”We should think of setting up manure factories in all the seven states and move ahead with setting up factories with a capacity of 200,000 metric tonnes in each state.” She stressed the need to reassure the farmers by setting up manure factories in Nepal as soon as possible.
On the occasion, Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority, Kulman Ghising, said that the establishment of a fertilizer factory was important for food security, and for that, Nepal’s electric energy should be used. He said, ”Even in the long run, manure should be produced using hydropower, which is also suitable for the future.”
Stakeholders including the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of
Agriculture and Livestock Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply and Investment Board participated in the establishment of a fertilizer factory in Nepal.
By Karuna Thapa
