FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WITH PICTURES
MARCH 22, 2023
ZB LUSAKA PLANT EXPANSION WORKS IMPRESS PPDF AND ZAM
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Progress on Zambian Breweries’ ongoing expansion work at its Lusaka plant has impressed visiting officials from the Public Private Dialogue Forum (PPDF) and Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM).
The entourage got an insider look of what will be the state-of-the-art plant refurbishment as well as upgraded office premises.
Acting Director General for the Public Private Dialogue Forum (PPDF) Roseta Chabala was pleased to see the works were on track – PPDF having worked with the brewer to engage the Ministry of Finance on looking at extending some of the investment incentives that in turn have allowed for Zambian Breweries to proceed with a project of such magnitude.
“For the government side of things, it’s really something that’s going to pay off for the incentives that we have given; we see job creation, a lot of economic activities around this plant, and a lot of involvement from the farmers for their raw material; but we also see even in the service sector an expansion happening as a result of this one single investment. We would really want to see such kind of investment happening across our private sector and it’s really encouraging that we can have ‘old’ companies like Zambian Breweries go into an expansion mode of this magnitude.”
Chief Executive Officer for the Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) Muntanga Lindunda further noted: “The site visit is also a reminder of what we already know about Zambian Breweries; their commitment to sustainability. We acknowledge their commitment to ESG and also, we are happy to see that in the value chain they are incorporating farmers, which is proof that jobs are being created and especially impressive is that local content utilization. More than 80 per cent of their inputs are locally sourced and for those that are not we can really see the effort from them to do more and even push the Proudly Zambian campaign forward. As ZAM that is what we have been pushing the manufacturing industry to do and to acknowledge because that really grows our economy.”
Zambian Breweries Country Director Michelle Kilpin alluded to the positive knock-on effects that the investment would have throughout its value chain.
“Expanding our capacity locally means that throughout our value chain there will be more opportunities for our suppliers, for our customers etc. to benefit from this investment. We will be sourcing more raw materials from our local farmers; for example, we’re going to need more cassava, we’re going to need more sorghum and we’re certainly going to need more barley, and we will need more transporters to move those goods,” said Ms Kilpin.
Zambian Breweries announced the massive US$80 million expansion project and overhaul to the plant in June of 2022 and is set to complete the works in October of 2023. One notable milestone has been the installation and commissioning of a heavy fuel oil (HFO) boiler in December 2022 to replace coal boilers in a bid to reduce its emissions from operations. Through its sustainability agenda, the company commits to continue to position itself to pilot renewable sources of energy for its operations.
Another milestone is the installation of a new mash filter in the brewing area which will enable the brewer to produce cassava-based products such as Eagle larger at the plant, whereas it is currently only doing so at the Ndola plant. The cassava is sourced from small-holder farmers mostly in Luapula Province. With the increased capacity and upgrades, Zambian Breweries is further optimistic of handling peak periods better going forward.
“It’s certainly going to enable us meet the needs of our consumers better but what it will also enable us to do is to innovate with new products that can potentially meet the unmet needs of consumers that we have in the market already, so watch this space for some exciting developments,” she said.
“All is on track, there is a lot of construction on the go but we are very excited to be able to just share the progress as we track it with our colleagues from ZAM and PPDF,” noted Ms Kilpin.
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About AB InBev in Zambia
Zambian Breweries Plc is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the largest brewer in the world, with more than 400 beer brands and some 200,000 employees in over 50 countries. It is also one of the world’s largest bottlers of soft drinks.
Zambian Breweries was established in Zambia in 1968 and its product range has grown to include clear beers such as Mosi Lager, Castle, Carling Black Label, Eagle beer, Stella Artois and Budweiser.
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