SABMiller to begin construction of a brewery in second half this year

The new brewery will also include a returnable bottle packaging line and warehousing facilities. SABMiller plans to locally produce its Castle and Castle Lite brands.

SABMiller last year announced it had won a licence for the brewery. Construction will begin in the second half of this year. By constructing a brewery, SABMiller is responding in kind to Heineken and Diageo. The two joint venture partners officially opened their first brewery in South Africa last month.

Namibia Breweries is majority-controlled by Heineken and Diageo.

The brewery in Namibia is part of SABMiller’s sizeable investment scheme in Africa. The company reportedly spent USD 340 million last year building four breweries in Angola, Tanzania, Mozambique and southern Sudan.

Its total expansion expenditure for 2009 – yet to be confirmed - was about USD 1.25 billion.