President Emmerson Mnangagwa has today commissioned Varun Beverages Zimbabwe’s additional bottled water and cordial production plant, taking its production capacity to 400 bottles per minute.
The latest production line will also increase the company’s capacity to 60 million bottles and cans per month.
In 2019, the company commissioned a Can Manufacturing, Plastic Bottle and Preforms Manufacturing Plant.
“I am delighted that you have fulfilled the pledge you made at that event and accordingly expanded that plant in line with your business growth strategy,” said Mnangagwa while officially opening the plant.
The last plant is testament of the company’s expansion drive to meet market demand and also tap into the export market at a time the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) has been set in motion and will create a market of about 1.3 billion people.
Mnangagwa said the investment and roll out of Mobile Dispensing Units by Varun Beverages has changed the beverage retail landscape and created employment opportunities for our youth and women.
This comes on the back of strong business sentiment in the economy characterized by an improvement in the macro-economic environment which has seen the stabilization of inflation compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in 2019.
“The adoption of a culture of continuous investment and increasing capacity utilization by your organization resonates with the objectives of the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy,”
“The policy seeks to promote local production of goods and commodities towards decreasing reliance on imports,” said Mnangagwa.
Varun Beverages Zimbabwe, a joint venture between Glaciem and Varun Beverages of Zambia, which in turn is a subsidiary of RJ Corp Group, an Indian headquartered company established its operations in 2018 after investing a US$ 30 million into the plant.