VARUN Beverages Limited intends to set up a pineapple canning plant in Mwinilunga District, Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati has said.
Mr. Mutati said in Lusaka yesterday that Zambia development Agency (ZDA) would next week hold discussions with Varun Beverages Limited, producer of Pepsi and Mirinda carbonated drinks, on investment plans to set up a canning plant in Mwinilunga.
The minister said the two parties were expected to discuss investment projections, incentive packages including concessions, among other issues.
The Government, he said, was working hard to attract investment in pineapple production and generate employment for the local people in Mwinilunga.
“Varun is interested in setting up a smaller concentrate plant (squeezing of the juice from fruits’ including the pineapple) and will be meeting with ZDA by the end of this week and discussion will begin early next week,” he said.
Varun Beverages Limited has invested US$40 million to establish a Pepsi bottling plant that would bring on line fruit juices from home-grown raw materials.
The modern plant which commenced production in September last year, has a production capacity of 500,000 cases of carbonated drinks per month and has employed more than 214 Zambians.
Mwinilunga has the highest potential for pineapple production in Zambia. A lot of pineapples produced in the region go to waste since the collapse of the pineapple processing plant in the 1990s.
In 1991/92 season, prior to the collapse of the pineapple factory, the total area cultivated was 1,421 hectares, with production of 11, 368 tonnes of pineapples.
Mr. Mutati said the Government has partnered with Lumwana Copper Mine under the Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) to attract investors set up a fruit canning factory in Solwezi District.
The Lumwana MFEZ under Lumwana Properties Development has an investment injection of $1.2 billion had its master plan completed.
The construction phase is expected to create about 13,000 jobs this year.
Mr. Mutati said Government had agreed to provide incentives while Lumwana would woo investors to the MFEZ.
The investors in MFEZs and industrial parks qualify for a number of concessions, among them zero per cent tax profits for a period of five years from the first year profits are made, for six to eight years only 50 per cent of the profit is taxed, for year nine and 10, 75 per cent of profit is taxed.
Others are zero per cent import duty rate on raw materials, capital goods, machinery including trucks and specialised vehicles for five years and deferment of Value added Tax (VAT) on machinery and equipment.
Mr. Mutati said the move would support economic development
in the manufacturing sector where value addition is being encouraged as opposed to exporting goods in raw form.
[ Times Zambia ]
varum beverages is a giant Im encouraged going by how pepsi and mirinda have dominated the fanta coke inductry. This will be a huge success for the pipo of mwinilunga. the pineapples will no longer go to waste and we shall be able to eat canned fruit and juice. more job creation more development again another levy legacy so HH will cry out loudest
Dear Shazza,
This is Hefei Zhongchen Light Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd.(Also called Central International), a specialized company in China providing beer & beverage bottling line equipments. We are Carlsberg,Pepsi,Coca Cola approved supplier, and has supplied quite a lot of projects to Bottlers worldwide in recent years such as:
Carlsberg:
1.Malawi: 1 set 40,000BPH beer and soft drink RGB combination bottling line, and whole utilities systems supply; 1 set 28,000BPH soft drink bottling line.
2.Laos: 1 set 24,000BPH soft drink RGB bottling line, water treatment, syrup kitchen, and refreigeration system.
3.Nepal: Cider processing system, and Carton & Crate conveyors.
4.Vietnam: Can shrink packer etc.
Coca Cola:fifteen bottling and packaging lines.
Pepsi:Sixteen production
We would appreciate if you can get the contact info of VARUN Beverages Limited,as we would like to cooperate with VARUN Beverages Limited on this project.
Kind regards
Long over due, but a very, very welcome development for the people in Mwinilunga, and Zambia at large.
We would like to cooperate with VARUN Beverages Limited.It is very appreciated if you tell us how to reach them.
Great News. The incentive package for MFEZ sounds good too.
It is a good news.We would like to cooperate with VARUN Beverages Limited.It is very appreciated if you tell us how to reach them.
Wonder what would have been had levy lived.
We’d like to cooperate with VARUN Beverages Limited.It is very appreciated if tell us how to reach them.
Good development and long over due. Like I said this is election year do not let MMD hoodwink you with these developments. We need change in Zambia in order to progress our democracy. It has taken this lot 20 years to bring this kind of development when they promised things would change for the better in the first 5 years of office.
We ‘d like to cooperate with VARUN Beverages Limited?It is appreciated if tell us how to reach them.
Great news….i will give credit were it is due and Govt appears to be making efforts to bring development to the Nation, ok Mr Banda keep it up and job well done.
We would like to cooperate with VARUN Beverages Limited.It is very appreciated if you tell us how to reach them .
Good development,i hope its not just political rhetoric,the road to Mwinilunga is deplorable for over a decade now
One Zambia, one vote, only one RB.
No amount of Sata and the posts propaganda and lies will dupe the Zambian pipo that this, among many others , is not development.:
Thats what we need…i am informed that ZDA is also looking at the cashew industry and how it has been a success in Tanzania. The CASHEW NUTS industry needs to be revised in Western Province(Not Barotseland). The Mangos in Western Province also need to be harnessed. Fruits generally do well in Western Province. Also Fish and cattle, Timber, Tourism,Rice etc. This goes to other Provinces especialy in Rural areas where we need to empower the locals…Luapula has a huge potential for Hydro electricity and Tourism
These are issues we are supposed to be talking about fellow citizens..
If my belly is full, i dont care who is in state house, even WILLIAM BANDA!!!!….(hey just joking on this one)
this is year of election i will not believe because after election all this will disappear. Mwinilunga right now need stable source of power before anything not the thermal you are using right now. now i know right there are clearing bush for the to connect power from lumwana to mwinilunga but mmd can do anything in election year. unless is complete i dont trust them.
This is certainly good news but I am very worried about not collecting taxes for 5 years. As soon as they start selling products taxes should be an intergral part of their costs. This happens everywhere. one year tax exemption should suffice. What would happen as it is happening already, as soon as the 5 year comes to an end they pretent to sell the company to another company who will in turn be exempted. While they mention that 200 people will employed, they should come up with an agricultural reform where all pineapples should be grown by Zambians to feed into the plants
#1 shazza . If you knew the parties involved in this Varun Beverages, you will be looking for the ring leaders who started the revolution in Tunisia to oust the President for some tips. The idea is very good but please the government through state house and its tenants should allow other Zambians to participate in various business like this one.
If that is true , then we are hearding somewere as a nation, i think man should not doubt over what Mr mutati felix says, he is a hardworking man, known him from namadwe investments long time before he was little known.
he built that investment to one of the great investment , m not sure if its in existence 2day, but all to say he is hard working guy in MMD.
We salute you for that , work on it lets see if its not just politics but development in the country.
# 10 opness Dont be so skeptical . truth be told there are a lot of projects that are visible. I am seeing a new Manda hill, the other project on Kafue Road, a number mines, KCM is expanding . Lets hope for the best
Amayama, its a competitive world so you need to offer a competitive environment and tax concessions are part of that. And what is not paid is company tax, They still pay PAYE and import taxes ( except on capital equipment) We should also consider that such an industry will integrate with the local community
They are a bunch of Indians from typical Mumbai with red dots on their fore heads. They are very bad payers both to local suppliers and employees. All managers are Indians including Finance. They dont treat the locals very well, being treated like slaves. They are a bunch of jokers I tell you. It’s not a company you want to work for……believe me.
#15 Your enlightened xenophobia and racism is just what is needed in 2011! In case you have been away on planet pf kaponya, did you know that the Indian economy is likely to surpass that of China and the US in the coming to become the largest in the world? This means that whether we like it or not, we will have to deal with those guys with red dots on their foreheads on every level. If you feel that you can be a better employer for your fellow Zambians, then why not try and form a rival company which would be the best way of teaching the men with red dots on their forehead not to mess with an African?
I thought Kaunda already did this. We have/had a Mwinilunga pineapple something right? So I wouldn’t be too exited with this news because all it says is that we are putting up something that we had and destroyed. Its called de javu
#17, Mfiti.
I agree with you that under KK we had the pineapple plant. As usual, we could not manage our own industry because of lack of foresight and selfishness. Now here we are giving credit to a foreign company. I am tired of some of these stories. All the same let’s wait and see how far it will go.
#16 Umubemba emwine wa chalo . Are you saying we will allow those Indians to mistreat our people because of your theories that they will be a biggest economy in the world soon? Our gov does not allow or support locals to participate in the big league as far as business is concerned so dont ask Mushota to compete with the Indians. MMD has just brought in a bunch of jokers as investors as Mushota puts it.
No 17 & 18 KK made that company and he himself ran it down into the ground. the thing is that you seem to believe that government should be running your business. all i can tell you is the end has a common path way. “RUN DOWN”. this case is different, business people have taken up the company and it will run properly. for as long as you stop asking Gov to increase tax on business
# 15,
So what if they are a bunch of Indians? Have you heard of them mistreating their workers? Or are you simply prejudiced? What has those red dots got to do with what they are doing on the ground? From over here, it seems you are writing from the UK. Why don’t you come back home and open up your own simple freezit plant? Look at you, shamelessly whining about something from the comfort of the 1st world. If you care so much, come back home and do something! You and your friends can had all the chance to get together and get the rights to Pepsi. What stopped you? Fool!
#19
Same goes for you. What the hell are you doing SA? Come back home you mofo! Are they a bunch of jokers? Well then, let’s see how many people you can employ. Let’s see how much tax you give to the ZRA. Let’s see! Come on! And stop blaming the government about favouritism in big business. The same incentives given to them can be given to Zambians as well, but tell me which Zambian went ahead with the the Pepsi bottling plant? No one! Just like you, all you haters live outside the country then critisize! You are the joker here.
Oh, what do you have to say about Bartotse Petroleum being given prospecting rights? Is this company not Zambian????? Eat that!
I think this is among the such a lot vital info for me. And i am happy reading your article. But should observation on some basic things, The site style is perfect, the articles is truly great : D. Just right task, cheers
Very great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your feed and I am hoping you write once more very soon!
Thank you, I’ve recently been looking for information about this topic for a while and yours is the greatest I’ve found out so far. However, what concerning the bottom line? Are you certain in regards to the supply?|What i don’t understood is actually how you’re not actually a lot more smartly-favored than you may be right now. You are very intelligent.