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CAIRO: Coca-Cola Co expects to start production in five new factories in Egypt and Pakistan over the next 18 months, seeing double-digit percentage growth in sales for both markets this year, its Middle East and North Africa president told Reuters.
Pakistan will see three new plants open in the next 18 months in Karachi, Multan and Islamabad.
“We watch the needle in Pakistan and almost every month we red-line on what our capacity is,” Curt Ferguson said, adding that he expected sales growth of around 20 per cent in Pakistan this year. “We’re just scratching the surface there.”
On Egypt, which is desperate to attract foreign direct investment after three years of political and economic turmoil, he said: “Egypt is going to be one of our key anchor countries.” He cited the country’s large and growing population as a big positive.
As part of a $500 million investment plan announced for Egypt in March, Coca-Cola will start constructing a new juice plant in 6th of October city near Cairo next year in a joint $100m dollar project with Saudi Arabia’s Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company.
The $500m will be spent over the next three years, Ferguson said.
The beverage group is in talks to buy a plot of land between Cairo and Alexandria to build a plant for sparkling drinks and water which should go online next year, Ferguson added.
The rest of the $500m will be used to increase production at existing plants such as its concentrate factory in Cairo, the only one of its kind in the Middle East, and to cover capital spending. —Reuters
Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2014
