Nepal: Udayapur Cement has commenced a US$4.2m upgrade and capacity expansion of its cement plant at Jaljale. The work includes replacing the shell of its 20m rotary kiln by the end of February 2021 and installing a reinforcement suspension preheater system, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. It will expand the plant’s capacity by 38% to 0.4Mt/yr from 0.29t/yr. The plant s current equipment dates to 1988. Company spokesperson Laxman Pokharel said "Since the machines are old, we face frequent problems." He added that this has led to increased costs. The Nepal government has agreed to loan Udayapur Cement US$34.4m, 80% of the project s budget. /Global cement