Abu Dhabi - Mubasher: Agthia Group on Monday announced entering into a 50-50 joint venture with Kuwait’s Al Wafir Marketing Services Company to establish a water bottling plant in Kuwait.
The UAE’s leading food and beverage firm noted that the plant is expected to commence operations by the second half of 2017.
The plant “will mainly produce water under Agthia’s flagship brand of Al Ain,” the Abu Dhabi-listed company said in a statement.
Kuwait’s water consumption per capita is considered one of the highest in the world, the statement revealed, adding that the population is set to rise by more than 3% and GDP to grow around 4.3% annually, the bottled water market in Kuwait is projected to expand from around 600 million liters to about 750 million liters by 2019.
Through this JV, Agthia aims to significantly increase its presence in Kuwait and use it as a hub for export opportunities into neighboring countries.
“Regional expansion in water is a critical part of our strategy. Moreover, the decision to aggressively grow the Al Ain brand in Kuwait through partnering with Al Wafir is the right move, given their strong and diverse business model,” stated Agthia Group CEO Iqbal Hamzah.
The top official spoke of Al Ain’s history, saying that its roots go back to 1978 when the “late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan sowed the seeds of this water company. Therefore, building the first Al Ain Water plant outside the UAE represents a historic moment to us.”
