The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, comprising Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd and Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd., has said that it will invest N560 billion in five years in Nigeria.

Managing Director of NBC, Mr. Mathieu Seguin, said this on Thursday in Lagos, during a news conference to flag-off activities marking the company’s 70th anniversary celebration in Nigeria.

The Coca-Cola System, through the bottling arm NBC, was incorporated in 1951.

Seguin said that from 2007 till date, the company had invested $1.7 billion in the country, for the expansion of production capacity, and building of modern warehouses.

He said that the investment included eco-friendly logistics and above all, creation of jobs for teeming Nigerian youths across the value chain.

According to him, in the last five years, Coca-Cola System supported the creation of 58,000 jobs along its value chain, aside many other jobs it has outsourced.

“Over the next five years, we will be investing an additional N560 billion or $1 billion in our operations in Nigeria.

“With the additional capital injection, we are set to expand the capacity of our manufacturing plants in other parts of the country, to mirror the scope of operations at our Ikeja plant.

“This will ensure that all our product types and packaging options be within even closer reach to all our consumers nationwide,” he said.

Seguin said that with eight manufacturing plants, over 7,000 dealers, skilled and dedicated employees, and a sophisticated distribution system across Nigeria, Coca-Cola was within the close reach of consumers.

Speaking on the 70th anniversary milestone, he said that the company continued to grow, deliberate about investing heavily to make a positive impact in the lives of the people in communities where the company worked and operated.

He said that Coca-Cola believed that its business was only as sustainable as the communities in which it operated, hence, mainstreamed sustainability into every aspect of its business.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria, Mr. Alfred Olajide, said that the 70th anniversary celebration was a testament to the possibilities and shared opportunities the company had created in the country.

Olajide said that it was years of investments that had ensured the oiling of the country’s economic gears.