Coca-Cola set to invest Rs 3,000 crore to install new plant in Sanand

Source: Business Standard

American beverage manufacturer, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) is set to invest Rs 3,000 crore to set up a beverage bases and concentrates plant in Sanand, 22 km away from Ahmedabad, according to a report published in The Times of India (ToI). The company will make the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through International Refreshments (India) Private Limited (IRIPL), which is a subsidiary of TCCC.

The newspaper quoted its sources in the Gujarat government and said that a plot of land (SM-52) which measures 160,000 square metres in size, has been acquired by the company to install the manufacturing facility in Sanand Industrial Estate-II.

The report cited senior officials in the state administration as saying, "Coca-Cola has already made two large investments through its bottling partners in Gujarat. The government has fast-tracked the process of approvals and has already made land allotment to the company."

The Coca-Cola Company already has a facility in Goblej, which is about 33 km from Ahmedabad, through its bottling partner - Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Limited besides the one at Sanand. The two plants were installed at a total investment of $180 million, the ToI report said.

The newspaper report said that the upcoming plant will be fully automated with robotic technology. The plant will use devices that leverage advanced technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning. This will allow real-time monitoring and control of the manufacturing processes. The plant will also be equipped with automated storage and retrieval systems.

For the construction of the plant, a workforce of about 1,000 persons will be employed by the company. This will include both skilled and unskilled workers, the ToI report said.

Once the plant begins operations, it will have a workforce of about 400 persons in operational and engineering roles.

Quoting a source, the newspaper report said, "The beverages major has created several employment opportunities through at least two hundred thousand retailers and direct and indirect jobs for 1,000 persons in Gujarat thus far." Besides the job created at the plant, the new facility will give a boost to ancillary industries such as packaging suppliers, flavour suppliers, engineering services, capital goods, and automation sectors, the report added.