IME Group opens paper industry with Rs. 2 billion investment

Gaushala, Mar. 5

Nepal Pulp and Paper Industries Pvt. Ltd. has come into operation at Itatar of Gaushala Municipality-1 in Mahottari district. 

The largest paper manufacturing facility in the country is set up at a cost of Rs. 2 billion with a potential of future expansion to meet the growing market demands. 

With this industry, IME Group has officially entered into the manufacturing sector after its success in banking, hospitality, remmittance, insurance and tourism infrastructure. 

"We see an immense possibility in Nepal. Successful operation of this industry will falsify the notion that Nepal lacks opportunity in real sector," said Chandra Prasad Dhakal, Chairman of IME Group and the industry. "It will use domestic raw materials and create jobs for Nepali people."

The paper mill is using waste paper as the raw material, tapping on the immense waste resource being generated in the country. 

This has checked the export of waste paper at a cheaper rate to India and import of finished paper products at expensive rates. 

Dhakal said that the mill is the first to use waste paper as raw material that will help in keeping the environment clean.

Utilising waste paper and substituting import,

creating jobs especially for local women and youth who would migrate abroad in search of jobs are the primary objectives of the industry. 

Nepal imports paper of various kinds worth more than Rs. 12 billion annually while its fully reliant on imports for A4 size paper.

Nepal Pulp and Paper Industries is creating 300 jobs ranging from wage-based unskilled and semi-skilled to high-skilled technicians and engineers. 

The facility spans in 20 bighhas of land. 

The company claimed that it will produce paper with a quality at par with international standards. 

In the first phase, it is producing A4 size paper and paper for printing and exercise books.

It has an aim to meet the domestic demand and export the product in future. It said that if the supply of raw material is low, import of such items from India could be considered. 

It has the production capacity of 75 tonnes per day. For the future, an expansion plan is in the offing to double the capacity. Land and other infrastructures are being managed with the same motive.

The mill is also planning to use other natural raw materials in future. 

Dhakal, who is also the President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that Nepal imports about 150,000 tonnes of paper and paper products annually.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 6 March 2025.