Coca Cola is planning to build a USD 70 million factory in Ethiopia stretching on 14.3 hectares of land, the firm’s shareholders are also planning to invest USD 300 million in the country in the coming five years. The new plant will have a manufacturing capacity of 70,000 cases per day.
Burno Pietracci, general manager of the East and Central African Franchise, said that company is expanding its outlay to promote Ethiopia as a destination for other potential foreign investors.
The new plant will be the biggest bottler and the fourth of its kind in the country. The fifth plant is planned to be set up in Hawassa, capital of the Southern Regional State.
The first Coca-Cola bottling plant was set up in Addis Ababa in 1959 with a capacity of bottling 36,000 plastic bottles (PET) per hour.
Recently, Ethiopia has become a haven for most foreign investors with many companies relocating their manufacturing plants from countries such as Turkey, India, and China to Ethiopia.
Foreign Direct Investment flows to Ethiopia rose by 46 per cent to $3.2 billion in 2016, mainly propelled by numerous investments in infrastructure and manufacturing.
Meanwhile, In Kenya, CCBA recently completed an Sh19 billion deal with Centum Investment to acquire Almasi bottlers and Nairobi bottlers.
