The ongoing expansion of the Nigerian Breweries Plc, Aba plant, which is expected to stimulate economic activities in the commercial city, has started attracting fresh investments to the area, BusinessDay reveals.
NB plc, in 2012 announced plans to inject fresh funds totaling N15 billion, to scale up its production capacity and packaging (Can) line, from the current 1.2million hecto liter (HL) to 2.4 million HL.
This development has attracted GZ Industries Limited, an aluminum can manufacturing firm, based in Agbara, Ogun State, to site an ultramodern can plant in Aba to take advantage of the installation of a canning line in NB.
GZI has a production capacity of about 1.2 million Cans per year, which exceeds Nigeria’s current can requirements.
To support the new wave of investments into Aba, the Abia State Government has commenced the construction and rehabilitation of roads at its industrial estates. The Geometric Road at Osisioma is one of the newly constructed roads by the State Government, to support industrial activities in the area.
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Governor Theodore Orji at the inauguration of the road also promised that the ongoing rehabilitation work on Onyeador Street, Industry road, which hosts NB plc and other big manufacturing concerns, would be completed before the end of 2013.
NB plc started operations in Aba in 1957, but scaled down its operations in the city in 2005, due what its management described as economic downturn and high cost of production.
However, it re-established interest in the town with the commissioning of an ultra-modern ‘Nano Technology’ plant in October 2008, which was estimated to have gulped over N4 billion, thereby increasing its production capacity from 5000,000 HL to 1.2 million HL of products per annum, a development which stakeholders applauded.
This new investment by NB Plc will further scale up the production capacity of the brewery to 2.4 million hectoliters per annum when completed in 2014. NB is Nigeria’s largest brewer by market value.
The company’s shares have risen11.22 percent this year, compared with a 19 percent advance in the Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index.
