Lhakpa Quendren

Samtse—Following the relocation of ferrosilicon factories from Jigmeling Industrial Park in Sarpang to Norbugang Industrial Park in Samtse by the end of 2023, the new site is facing a severe space shortage.

Norbugang Industrial Park, spanning 186 acres, is significantly smaller than Jigmeling’s 733 acres. With over 48 acres already dedicated to infrastructure, just 138 acres remain for development. Factories are now squeezed into plots ranging from 7 to 13.3 acres, far smaller than those at their previous locations.

Bhutan Venture Ferro Alloys Private Limited, Exalt Druk Enviroklens Limited, Druk Venture Ferro Alloys Private Limited, and Ace Himalayan Ferro Alloys Private Limited—all foreign direct investment companies—have secured the largest plots available, each exceeding 13 acres.

These plots, however, are smaller than their previous allocations at Jigmeling, where Bhutan Venture Ferro Alloys and Ace Himalayan Ferro Alloys had 21 and 17 acres, respectively.

An official from Ace Himalayan Ferro Alloys said that while the current plot meets immediate needs, it poses challenges for future expansion. “The cramped space forces us to operate more compactly, including reducing our conveyor belt length from 150 metres to 91 metres,” he explained.

Factories like Aja Alloys Private Limited have had to adjust their layouts to fit the irregular shape of their plots, located between two rivers.

Aja Alloys Private Limited secured an additional 5 acres of land after Kinley Metals Private Limited moved to Motanga Industrial Park in Samdrupjongkhar. With this additional plot, the factory now has a total of 11 acres—equivalent to the size of the plot it had at Jigmeling.

The general manager (Projects) of Aja Alloys Private Limited, Tenzin Choida, said that the original plot was insufficient for the two planned 9 Mega Volt-Ampere (MVA) furnaces. “Now we have space for raw materials and plans to install another furnace should the market expand,” he said.

Jigmeling Industrial Park was the largest industrial estate planned for heavy industry development in the country, which housed 43 factories before it was relocated to Norbugang. However, one factory relocated to Motanga, another to Pasakha, and three to Dhamdum, while the others exited.

With high demand for limited space, plots at Norbugang were allocated based on project capacity to ensure all relocating promoters were accommodated.

The Department of Industry has stated that Norbugang Industrial Park’s limited plots and insufficient energy supply are significant concerns, especially since all factories are ferrosilicon-based.

Currently, three promoters are finalising documentation, and around eight applicants are under review, with only 35 acres left available.

The five domestic factories under construction—Green Ferro, Aja Alloys, BMML Ferro Alloys, Om Jigmeling Metallurgy, and Samtse Ferro Alloys—bring the total to nine, including the four FDI factories.

Aja Alloys Private Limited has started work while Om Jigmeling Metallurgy Private Limited is expected to resume work after the monsoon. The other seven projects have reached advanced stages, with some planning to commence operations by the first half of next year.

Ace Himalayan Ferro Alloys plans to commission and have both furnaces operational by the end of April next year. The factory is about 90 percent complete in civil foundation work and about 60 percent complete in structural work.

“We initially planned to complete one furnace by January next year but the power supply will only be available by March, according to our Cost Recovery Agreement,” said the company representative.

The development at Norbugang includes infrastructure projects like boundary walls, roads, and utility systems. With a budget of Nu 847 million, the park is slated for completion by September 2025, while road upgrades to Samtse-Norbugang are expected by June 2026.