Coca-Cola to invest $165 million in construction of two factories in Uzbekistan

Coca-Cola Ichimligi Uzbekiston, Ltd will invest $165 million in the construction of two factories in Uzbekistan, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz news agency.

A plant for the production of soft drinks with an area of 18.5 hectares will open in the Samarkand region. Annual production will be 280 million liters, and the number of new jobs created will be 200.

The cost of the plant construction project is estimated at $133 million, of which $115 million will be foreign investment from the Dutch company CCI International Holland B.V.

It is planned to export products from the Samarkand enterprise to the CIS countries. The launch of the facility is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

Another project is a plant for the production of carbonated drinks in the Namangan region, which was presented to Shavkat Mirziyoyev on March 25. A plant with an annual output of 198 million liters will be built on an area of 14.2 hectares. The project is estimated at $50 million, which will be invested by a foreign investor represented by CCI International Holland B.V.

Construction work is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, with an opening scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.

The location of the plant in the Namangan region was chosen based on its proximity to neighboring countries, which simplifies logistics for the export of finished products. As a result of the launch of the facility, 300 new employees will be employed.

CCI Uzbekistan noted that production facilities will primarily be focused on meeting the needs of the domestic market.

In addition, both enterprises are introducing technologies that can reduce energy consumption by 10-15%, as well as purify water used in production for reuse. Over the past two years, Coca-Cola has managed to reduce water consumption by 12% - from 2 to 1.76 liters.

Coca-Cola ?çecek closed the deal to privatize Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan in September 2021. The state stake of 57.1% of shares cost the distributor $252 million.

The purchase followed nearly nine months of negotiations after the Turkish company submitted a bid in January of that year. The applicants submitted their price proposals in June, and in August it became known that Coca-Cola ?çecek would buy the asset.