07 Dec 2017 Heineken breaks ground on $100m brewery in Mozambique

Heineken, the world’s second-largest brewer, has started building a $100m plant in Mozambique as it seeks to compete with its larger competitor, AB InBev, in the southeast African country. 

The brewery, to be located in Maputo province, between the Marracuene and Manhiça districts, will incorporate the latest technologies and have a capacity of 800,000 hectolitres.

The first beers will come off the production line in the first half of 2019.

The world’s two beer-making giants are expanding in Africa to take advantage of rising household incomes and faster sales-growth rates than in more mature markets.

Heineken has units in Nigeria, where it brews the country’s Star lager and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In April, the Amsterdam-based company opened a new brewery in Ivory Coast at a cost of about €150m.

AB InBev, which last year bought SABMiller to become the world’s largest beer maker, brews the 2M, Laurentina and Manica brands in Mozambique.

The country’s economy is set to grow 4.7% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Mozambique, which defaulted on its dollar debt this year, has a population of 29.5-million.

Source: Bloomberg