NSE Kenya and London Exchange cross-listed Atlas Ltd says it has commenced ground clearing of its ‘Chancho Project’ in Ethiopia, a bottling plant located 45km north of the capital, Addis Ababa, which will have capacity to produce 105 million 330ml bottles per annum once completed in early 2019. To commemorate this landmark development, an official ground breaking ceremony was held on 15 February 2016 and attended by local dignitaries and members of the Board.
Related; ATLAS to raise KES 500M ($5M) to fund Ethiopian Project, Share Price falls by 95% in one year
The company last week sent a notice to its shareholders on its intention to raise approximately Ksh 505 Million( $5 million) through issue of new Ordinary Shares by way of a Placing at a Placing Price of 0.325 pence (KES 0.48) per Ordinary Share.The cash call will be used to fund the project.
A full feasibility study is now being conducted in tandem with local and international engineering consultants, which is close to completion and commissioning of the facility has been scheduled for 2018.
The key raw materials required for glass production (silica sand, limestone, dolomite, feldspar, soda ash) are readily available in Ethiopia, thereby reducing the project’s exposure in this regard.
Chief Executive of Atlas, Carl Esprey said, “We are delighted to have broken ground at the Chancho Project, our state-of-the-art glass manufacturing facility neighbouring Addis Ababa. The Project has been an excellent acquisition for us, giving us a foothold in the burgeoning Ethiopian consumer market and positioning us at the forefront of advancements in the East African manufacturing sector. We are delighted with the progress that has been made so far and the ground breaking ceremony marks another momentous step in our transition into exciting new territory. We can now look forward to commencing development of the project site over the coming year and updating the market on our progress in due course.”
Source; Atlas
