Kathmandu, November 24: A meat-processing factory is set to begin construction from the last week of Mangsir in Marin Rural Municipality, Sindhuli.

The factory is being built with the objective of exporting processed buffalo meat from Nepal to China. Himalayan Food International Pvt. Ltd. has completed the design work and moved into the construction phase.

According to the company, the factory will be constructed at a total cost of 27.64846 billion rupees, of which 20 billion rupees will be spent on factory construction and plant installation, and 7 billion rupees on livestock farming, worker housing, and fodder cultivation.

Out of the total investment, 20 billion rupees in foreign investment will come from Chengdu Jian Food Ltd. of China. The Department of Industry had approved the inflow of foreign investment in the month of Saun.

Dr. Naveen Sharma, chairman of Himalayan Food International Pvt. Ltd., said that since the land design work has been completed, construction of the factory will begin from the last week of Mangsir. He stated that 500 million rupees in foreign investment has already arrived, with the remaining amount on the way. “We are in the process of bringing in 20 billion rupees from China; of the remaining 7 billion rupees, a portion will be added by our Chinese partners and the rest will be arranged by Nepali partner companies,” he said.

According to him, the process of managing land for the construction of canteens, residential blocks, holding centers, and processing units is underway.

After construction, the meat will be exported from Sindhuli to China via Kathmandu and the Kerung border point. The company informed the Department of Industry that the factory—being built over 55 bighas of land—will create employment for 5,156 people once operational. The company aims to export 500 metric tons of meat daily, obtained from processing 5,000 cattle and buffaloes.

According to the company, the annual targets include producing 200,000 metric tons of processed buffalo meat and 55,000 metric tons of by-products (bones, hides, heads, and various internal organs).

To promote commercial and disease-free buffalo farming, buffalo-rearing groups have been formed across the country. The company also stated that fodder production has already begun in Gulariya, Bardiya.

In Saun, the government approved 20 billion rupees in direct foreign investment (FDI) for the buffalo meat processing industry (processed cooked buffalo meat factory) to be established in Sindhuli in partnership with Chinese investors.

The company plans to complete construction in eight months, working in two shifts. Construction was delayed in Asoj because stone aggregates and sand extraction had not been permitted. The company aims to begin meat export within one year.

People’s News Monitoring Service/Gorkhapatra daily