New Coca-Cola factory starts construction in Guian

COFCO Coca-Cola's Guian factory holds commencement ceremony on July 28. [Photo/people.cn]

The first factory to be built with an investment by beverage giant COFCO Coca-Cola in Southwest China's Guizhou province - its 20th bottling factory in China - started construction in Guian New Area on July 28.

The first stage of the factory will cover an area of 157 mu (20.47 hectares) with an investment of 270 million yuan ($28.58 million). It will be equipped with two advanced plastic bottle packaging production lines and will be put into operation by the end of 2021.

When in operation, the factory will have an annual capacity of 170,000 metric tons of beverage, which will meet growth demand over the next five years.

It is expected that the factory can reduce cross-region logistics and labor costs while improving supply chain efficiency.

It can also collaborate with factories in Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality to create more employment opportunities, promote the development of upstream and downstream industries, and boost the upgrading of food and beverage industries in Guizhou.

Guizhou is considered one of the major markets for COFCO Coca-Cola's sustainable development. Statistics show that from 2010 to 2018, COFCO Coca-Cola's Guizhou branch maintained rapid growth, especially in soda, juice and packaged water.

With the beverage market developing in Guizhou, COFCO Coca-Cola will increase investment and add production lines to make Guizhou's bottling factory an automated, intelligent and advanced factory with a high capacity.