MAPUTO, April 1 (Reuters) – Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABinBEV), the world’s largest beer producer, has opened a new $180 million brewery in Mozambique, the firm said on Thursday.

The new site has a capacity of 2.4 million hectolitres per year, with potential to expand that to 6.7 million.

Located in Marracuene, 30 km north of the capital Maputo, it represents the biggest investment in the sector in Mozambique.

The Heineken group began producing beer in Mozambique in 2019 at a $100 million factory, also in Marracuene, with a production capacity of 800,000 hectolitres per year.

The new ABinBev facility was built from scratch. It employed more than two thousand Mozambicans during the construction phase, and currently employs over 200 people on a permanent basis.

It will be operated by its subsidiary, the Mozambican brewery Cervejas de Mocambique (CDM).

Tomaz Salomao, President of CDM, called it “the biggest and (most) modern factory in the country and in Africa”, adding that it aimed to supply markets throughout the region.

Advertisement

The new facility will produce 80,000 bottles per hour, Salomao said. He also announced that the ABinBEV subsidiary would donate $1 million for the country to buy COVID-19 vaccines.

ABinBev paid around $100 billion in 2016 to acquire rival group SABMiller. It now produces two of the most popular beer brands in Mozambique – 2M and Laurentina. (Reporting by Manuel Mucari; editing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Ken Ferris)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions – https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

 

 

Advertisement