NIC starts works to re-operate AICL in Birgunj

By Dipak Prasad Gautam

Birgunj, Nov. 4: The National Innovation Centre (NIC) has started cleaning and checking the machinery for the operation of the Agricultural Inputs Company Limited (AICL) in Birgunj.

A team of NIC has begun the work since Tuesday while some local youths have reached the factory to support the technicians and scientists. 

Chairman of the NIC, Mahavir Pun, said that cleaning of the factory and checking of the machinery have been started with the aim of operating the factory in Birganj.

Since the government entrusted the Innovation Centre for the operation of the industry for 10 years since the date of resumption of its operation, the 15-member team from the NIC is currently busy with cleaning and checking the machinery, Pun told The Rising Nepal. 

The factory has been closed for about three decades. The news of its re-operation has made the people in the area happy, and some volunteers and students from the surroundings on Tuesday reached there to work together with the NIC people to clean and manage the tools and equipment in the factory.

Pun said that among the eight lathe machines inside the factory that were checked on Tuesday and Wednesday, seven are in good condition and could be repaired and operated. Since most of the machines are 50-60 years old and are run only in manual mode, they have to be upgraded and made automatic. 

“It will take time to operate the factory in full capacity, but we will work and bring it into operation as soon as possible,” said Pun. 

Since the factory area lies in lowland, there is a risk of inundation during the monsoon, so its floor should be elevated and cemented. Likewise, whole building and factory area should be cleaned and walls painted. 

According to Pun, as the industry is built in an area covering five bigahas of land and another five bigahas are used for residential buildings, the area will be enough to run the factory. 

The government will spend Rs. 100 million to Rs. 150 million for cleaning, repairing and procurement of additional machines. The NIC has begun the cleaning and inspection work with the help of 25 KVA generator installed at the factory. But many machines need electricity more than that so the team has to wait till the electricity supply to the factory is boosted. 

Chairman Pun said that the factory will produce tools that are suitable for the current need of farmers and farming. When this factory is fully operational, more than 500 employees will be required and it will have to be run in at least two shifts a day to operate it profitably.

The factory was established with the help from the then USSR in 1967 and was operational till 1994. The government had been spending millions of rupees in the salary of some employees. Last year, the government had proposed the NIC to help bring the company into operation.