DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Company plans to spend $100m building a fruit-juice factory in Egypt over the next few years, a senior executive said yesterday, despite the challenges there after three years of political turmoil.
Meshal Alkadeeb, vice president of strategy and business development, said the money would cover buying the land and setting up the factory in Egypt, which Aujun sees as a North Africa hub, mainly for Algeria and Libya. “The plant will be commissioned between 2016 and 2017. We just started working on it,” Alkadeeb said.
Having spent more than $100m in the food and beverage sector across the Middle East, mainly in Dubai and Dammam, and having agreed to buy a majority stake in Lebanon’s National Beverage Company, Aujun — half-owned by Coca-Cola Co — sees the time as ripe, Alkadeeb said.
“Right now, the biggest challenge for investing in Egypt would be infrastructure. They’ve realised this and they working seriously on addressing the gaps,” said Alkadeeb. Reuters
