Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Biti commissions $17m Delta plant

Biti commissions $17m Delta plant
Official opening ... Finance Minister Biti on Monday
05/11/2012 00:00:00
by Paradzai Brian Paradza

BEER and soft drinks manufacturer Delta Beverages on Monday commissioned a new US$17 million bottling plant in Southerton, Harare, which will more than treble production.

The state-of-the-art production line with a capacity to produce 42,000 pints per hour is efficient on utilities like water and electricity, thus reducing the cost of production. Officially opening the new plant, Finance Minister Tendai Biti welcomed the new investment by Delta.

Biti said liquidity constraints in the economy have hamstrung operations by most companies with most of the manufacturing industries operating below capacity.

“We recognise the fundamental truth that the private sector is the engine for sustained economic growth. In this regard, we strive to provide a conducive and enabling environment which will be the platform for the rebound of the country’s economic growth,” he said.

“As government, we are faced with the invidious task of trying to balance the interests of business against those of government.”

Delta Corporation CEO Pearson Gowero said the company has since 2009 been on a recapitalisation drive, adding that the new machinery will significantly improve production and eliminate the current intermittent shortages of some products.

Delta, which is owned 40 percent by SABMiller, recently became the first Zimbabwean company to reach $1 billion market capitalisation on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange.

The company is also investing in the new fermentation vessels at both Southerton in Harare and Belmont in Bulawayo expected to cost over US$4 million.

In its last full-year results, Delta Corporation posted a 38 percent rise in earnings, driven by strong demand for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The government also realised a total of US$158 million through excise duty and income tax from the company’s products for the year ending March 31, 2012.

New investment ... A worker watches bottles roll down the production line at Delta's new plant

Lending a helping hand ... Delta chairman Canaan Dube shakes hands with Biti on Monday

Labels: BEER, DELTA BEVERAGES, TENDAI BITI

posted by MrK @ 9:42 PM