Kathmandu, July 12: The government has handed the long-closed Hetauda Textile Mill to the Nepal Army in a bid to revive one of the country’s oldest state-owned industries. The Cabinet decided on July 2, assigning the army to assess, repair, and test the factory before any commercial production begins.
According to Army spokesperson Brigadier General Rajaram Basnet, the army has been tasked with inspecting and repairing the mill’s machinery, preparing a technical feasibility report, and carrying out trial production. The first phase will examine the condition of existing equipment, estimate repair costs, and determine whether the factory can resume operations.
The Ministry of Industry has already released Rs 3.3 million for the feasibility study. Officials said the findings will determine whether the current machinery can support production or whether major modernisation is required before the mill is reopened.
Established in 1975 with Chinese financial and technical assistance and an investment of Rs 200 million from the Nepal government, the Hetauda Textile Mill began commercial production in 1978. Built on 166 ropanis of land inside the Hetauda Industrial Estate, it once produced cotton shirts, trousers, bed sheets, quilt covers, saris, and other textile products for the domestic market while exporting a portion to India.
At its peak, the factory employed more than 1,000 workers and had achieved self-sufficiency in cotton fabric production. It was shut down in 2000 due to poor management, rising production costs, outdated machinery, unreliable electricity supply, weak market management, and overstaffing. The government formally decided to liquidate the company in 2002.
The army has long expressed interest in operating the factory. It completed a preliminary study in 2018 and later briefed the government on a revival plan. The proposal argues that the existing land, infrastructure, and domestic supply of most raw materials provide a strong foundation for restarting operations.
The study estimates an annual demand of around 2.6 million meters of fabric from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and other government agencies. It says the factory could initially meet this demand by producing uniforms, shirts, trousers, coats, aprons, curtains, bed sheets, and pillow covers.
The army’s proposal estimates that about Rs 1.15 billion will be needed to rehabilitate the factory, including infrastructure repairs, modern machinery, vehicles, equipment, and office facilities. Annual operating costs are projected at around Rs 780 million.
If revived, the mill is expected to reduce textile imports, save foreign currency, create jobs, and strengthen Nepal’s domestic manufacturing sector.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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