BAGMATI, APRIL 12: The production capacity of the industries in the Hetauda industrial Area has gone down by more than 50 percent. The production of these industries numbering 115 is now limited to just 40 percent of their total capacity.
With this, the industrial operation has now decreased to one shift from three shifts and workers have also been laid off, according to the Chief of the Industrial Area Management Office, Bhojraj Biradi. He attributes the dwindled production capacity to a decline in the sale of manufactured goods, raw material shortages, increasing operating costs, high bank interest rates, etc. “These factors have much to do with the overall economic slowdown that surfaced as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The industrialists related to the Hetauda industrial Area also lament that their businesses are being dogged by low production capacity, high production costs, and unsold inventory, among others.
Meanwhile, measures are being taken to revoke contracts for approximately two dozen non-operational industries. These industries had initially signed agreements and acquired land but have failed to commence operations.
Legal actions, including cases filed at the District Court, are being pursued against the management office regarding the contract cancellations. Out of the 147 established industries in the industrial sector, 115 are currently operational, while nine have ceased operations, and 23 are still under construction.
