Coca-Cola opens RMB 600-mln bottling plant in Wuhan

Oct. 19, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Coca Cola Co Ltd, the U.S.-based soft drink giant, on Friday opened a new bottling plant in Wuhan, the capital city of China's Hubei Province, after it launched its first dairy beverage in the market last Monday.

The new plant is Coca Cola's 39th bottling plant in China and involves the largest investment of RMB 600 million.

With the opening of Wuhan plant, the company will see its production capacity of still beverages increase to 300 million unit cases by this year. The new plant will produce bottled water, tea and fruit juice beverages, as well as newly launched juicy dairy beverage Pulpy Milky.

Still beverages are growing to contribute more than 30% of the company's sales in China, the world's second-largest beverage producer after the U.S., said Doug Jackson, president of Coca-Cola China, the China Daily reported.

The beverage drink giant has already opened facilities in 11 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Dongguan, to manufacture its still beverage products.

Coca-cola earlier said it would invest US$2 billion in China over the next three years, which is more than the total investment that the company poured in the past 30 years.