On 15 May, Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, and Tuncay Özilhan, Chairman of the Board of Anadolu Group attended the launch of a new Coca-Cola non-alcoholic beverage production plant in the Samarkand region.
The company’s exclusive partner in Uzbekistan is Coca-Cola İçecek, part of the Turkish Anadolu Group.
According to the Uzbek Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade, the new plant built at a cost of $80 million, will produce 280 million liters of beverages per year and create 200 jobs.
The company has now invested $500 million and created over 1,500 new jobs in three plants in Tashkent and Urgench, and in the Namangan region. The combined annual production exceeds 900 million liters of beverages.
Plans were also announced for the construction of a new production line in the city of Namangan, costing $50 million and scheduled to open next year.
The heads of The Coca-Cola Company and Anadolu Group commended Uzbekistan’s investment climate which nurtures confidence amongst foreign investors to implement long-term projects.
Following the launch, James Quincey and Tuncay Özilhan attended a meeting with Uzbekistan’s president Shavkat Mirziyoyev during which agreements were reached on the further expansion of the Coca-Cola Company’s investment program in Uzbekistan.
In response to the company’s readiness to increase their presence in Uzbekistan, the president advised that the state was set to adopt a separate roadmap for the accelerated implementation of this and other promising projects.
