AED 138 million manufacturing facility to employ over 400 in the first phase
ZonesCorp, one of the largest developers of purpose-built economic zones in the UAE, announced a new agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Berain Water to build a 36,000 square-metre water bottling plant in the food industry zone of Al Ain Industrial City.
Boasting strong logistics networks and a strategic location, the emirate has built state-of-the-art capabilities in producing competitive and value-added products, emerging as one of the most important food manufacturing and processing hubs in the region.
“The UAE and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong historic relations, and our latest partnership with the Saudi company Berain Water testifies to the strength of those ties,” said Saeed Eisa Mohammed Al Khyeli, Director General, ZonesCorp.
“We are happy to announce the investment of AED138 million (US$ 37.6mn) in a water bottling facility in Al Ain Industrial City with the complete support of the Abu Dhabi government and ZonesCorp,” remarked Eng Mahdi Nasser Al-Qahtani, CEO, Berain Water.
Set to commence operations in Q1-2020, the plant will produce around 70,000 200-600 ml bottles or 27,000 1.5-litre bottles per hour. The facility will also create 424 employment opportunities in manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales. This may increase to 807 jobs within two years with the addition of new production lines in 2021 as the company starts exporting to the rest of the GCC region.
Eng Al-Qahtani added that the facility will be able to handle the production of bottled water and other beverages in various types of packaging, such as glass and plastic bottles, in addition to manufacturing bottles and plastic caps.
