Dubai – Mubasher: Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company (ACCBC) on Monday announced plans to invest SAR 250 million ($66.68 million) over a two-year period to build a new bottling site in Iraq.
The bottling plant, which is expected to be ready by 2018, will provide over 150 jobs in the country.
“The site will play a key role in supporting Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company’s operation[s] in Iraq, enabling domestic supply for rising demand,” ACCBC said in a statement, indicating that the bottling site will also supply its products to neighboring markets.
The mother company behind brands such as Rani, Barbican, and Vimto, ACCBC’s new plant will include manufacturing lines its juices and soft drinks.
ACCBC’s announcement comes after the company’s participation in Baghdad’s International Expo, held between 21 and 30 October 2017.
“We believe in our brands, and our strategy, designed to target the youth across the region. The site investment is another step in putting our strategy in action. Growing the Iraq market is a strong pillar in our development plans for the future,” stated ACCBC CEO Tolga Sezer.
“The timing of the announcement could not be better,” Sezer further stated, indicating that the new investment will be “an opportunity for ACCBC to display its commitment to expand [its] growing supply chain footprint across the region.”
Our brands enjoy “leading positions within their respective categories in Iraq,” ACCBC said in its statement, indicating that Barbican was the biggest malt beverage in the country.
ACCBC’s operations in Iraq have continued to grow since the company’s inception in 2003.
