Finally, Nepa revival to be completed next year
Newsprint company to produce writing, printing papers
 "Finally, Nepa revival to be completed next year")
The Union government-owned newsprint company has been ailing since 1992. It was granted a restructuring package three years ago which it received last year. After revival Nepa will also make writing and printing paper.
"We are most likely to complete the modernisation by mid-next year," SK Mutreja, chairman and managing director of Nepa, told BS.
The company received a revival package of Rs 400 crore from the Union government: Rs 318 crore for machinery, Rs 22.48 crore for a rehabilitation scheme, and Rs 60 crore to lay off 400 employees.
The company has offered voluntary retirement to 378 employees and the workforce in now reduced to 817.
Nepa is expecting to produce 83,000 tonnes of paper a year, of which 36,700 tonnes will be newsprint and 46,300 tonnes writing and printing paper.
A Chinese firm is setting up a de-inking plant and a Czech company is renovating Nepa's old machines. The plan also includes installation of a new reel wrapping system.
The company has yet to decide on setting up a new captive power plant. Nepa has a fuel supply agreement for another five years with Western Coalfield.
"The existing power plant is operational and will be refurbished. The fuel supply agreement is available for the next five years. We now have 2 MW power supply from the state government and we are in process of obtaining another 10 MW," Mutreja said.
The company will also enter into a deal with power trading entities to procure cheaper power, if available.
Nepa, which pioneered manufacturing of newsprint in the country, commenced production in April 1956 with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes. It expanded in 1967, 1978 and 1989 to increase its capacity to 88,000 tonnes. The company switched to waste paper as a raw material when newsprint quotas were scrapped in the 1990s.