Coca-Cola plans to launch second plant in Azerbaijan in 2025, will invest $40 mln

BAKU. May 20 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan Coca-Cola Bottlers will invest 68 million manat ($40 million at the current exchange rate) in the construction of a second beverage production plant in Azerbaijan, with the facility planned to start up in 2025.

The Economy Ministry told Interfax that the plant's foundation was laid on Saturday in the central Azerbaijan's Ismayilli region.

The plant area will be 15 hectares. Annual capacity will be 165 million liters of Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Sprite soft drinks. The implementation of the project will create over 100 jobs.

The facility is being built based on a memorandum signed on February 1, 2021 between the Turkish company Coca-Cola Icecek and its subsidiary Azerbaijan Coca-Cola Bottlers, the ministry said.

Coca-Cola has been operating in Azerbaijan since 1996 and is one of the largest non-oil foreign investors. Azerbaijan Coca-Cola Bottlers has invested more than $200 million in the Azerbaijani economy to date. The company's first plant was built in Baku in 1997. The investment amount was not disclosed.