Coca-Cola and NBC open $20m bottling plant in Gaza

The Coca-Cola Company and National Beverage Company (NBC) have opened a new Coca-Cola bottling facility located in Gaza, which represents a $20 million investment in the region.
The new bottling facility further expands National Beverage Company’s Palestinian operations to four bottling plants and four distribution centers, and immediately creates 120 direct jobs in Gaza, while indirectly supporting more than 1,200 Palestinians through a local value-chain of suppliers, distributors and retailers.
The Coca-Cola Foundation, NBC and Mercy Corps, the international development organization, also announced a new $1.3 million charitable initiative designed to address two regional development challenges — ensuring access to clean drinking water and creating employment opportunities for Palestinian youth. 
The “Empowering sustainable communities in Gaza” initiative aims to support over 30,000 Palestinian beneficiaries within three years. 
NBC is the third largest Palestinian employer and the fifth largest Palestinian investor. 
“National Beverage Company and Coca-Cola share great pride in having been part of the fabric of Palestinian communities for almost 18 years, and our new Gaza plant shows our ongoing commitment to investing and supporting progress in communities around the world,” said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
“Ever since NBC first began operations, we have been firmly committed to building a successful Palestinian business that can create employment opportunities, support the national economy and demonstrate the great capabilities of our region while serving products of the very highest quality,” said NBC’s founder and Chairman Zahi Khouri. 
“NBC has worked with partners on the ground to expand its supply chain from city-to-city and village to village in the West Bank, with a long-term hope and clear ambition to operating in Gaza,” said NBC’s GM Imad Hindi.
Since 1998, NBC, The Coca-Cola Company and The Coca-Cola Foundation have supported dozens of community initiatives including an after-school football program, in collaboration with PACES.

Source: Arab News