(Yicai) Oct. 17 -- Swire Coca-Cola, a Chinese bottling partner of US beverage giant Coca-Cola, has started operations at the first project in its CNY12 billion (USD1.7 billion) 10-year investment plan.

The new plant in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan province, is Swire Coca-Cola’s first project to go into operation since the company announced in 2023 its CNY12 billion investment plan to build model green and intelligent beverage factories, the fifth-largest Coca-Cola bottling partner said in a statement today. The new facility is planned to have an annual production capacity of one million tons.

The American beverage giant, along with its local bottling partners, has invested in five production bases in China in recent years, including new factories, expanded capacity, and digital transformation, strengthening local supply chain capabilities, the company said today.

Last month, another major Coca-Cola bottler in China, COFCO Coca-Cola, opened a new plant in Xi’an, western China’s Shaanxi province, with a total investment of CNY1 billion (USD140 million) and an annual production capacity of over 1.1 million tons.

Swire Coca-Cola’s Zhengzhou plant incorporates more than 30 energy-saving, carbon-reduction, and water-optimization measures, including a smart hot water center, intelligent refrigeration, and photovoltaic power generation. It also features an automated picking and distribution system using sorting robots and unmanned transport vehicles to achieve full automation from order placement and inventory to packaging and delivery, the firm said.

Swire Coca-Cola, a subsidiary of British conglomerate John Swire & Sons, holds exclusive rights to manufacture, market, and distribute Coca-Cola products across 11 provinces and Shanghai in China’s mainland, as well as in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and parts of the western United States, serving a population of more than 940 million, according to its website.

Swire Coca-Cola has also completed the main structure of its CNY1.3 billion (USD182.5 million) smart and green production base in Guangzhou, with production expected to begin next year, it added.

Editor: Emmi Laine