Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd has commissioned three new production lines at its plants in Oyo and Kano states as part of the Coca-Cola System’s planned $1bn investment programme in Nigeria.
The company, a member of the Coca-Cola HBC Group, said in a statement that two of the new production lines are located at its Asejire plant in Oyo State, while the third is at its Challawa plant in Kano State.
The facilities were inaugurated during a ceremony attended by the Minister of State for Industry, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh.
According to the company, the new production lines are equipped with advanced bottling technology and form the first phase of a nationwide programme to expand production capacity across its Nigerian plants in 2026.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director of NBC, Goran Sladic, said the investment reflects the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria.
“NBC has been part of Nigeria’s growth story for 75 years. Since 1951, we have invested in people, infrastructure, manufacturing capability, and communities across the country. We are, proudly, a Nigerian company.
“The three new production lines we are commissioning today at Asejire and Challawa are proof of what is achievable when that commitment is matched by an enabling policy environment, and a signal that we intend to be part of this country’s story for the next 75 years and beyond,” he said.
The company said the latest expansion builds on more than $1.5billion invested in its Nigerian operations over the past decade and is part of the Coca-Cola System’s long-term investment plans for the country.
It noted that the investment programme, announced in 2024, targets up to $1billion in additional investment over five years, subject to a predictable and enabling business environment.
NBC also cited findings from a 2024 socio-economic impact study by global consulting firm Steward Redqueen, which said the Coca-Cola System generated $1billion in value-added economic activity and supported more than 160,000 livelihoods across its value chain.
According to the study, the system supported 53 jobs across Nigeria for every direct job within its operations, while goods and services worth $601million purchased in 2024 were sourced from Nigerian suppliers.
Speaking at the event, Enoh said NBC’s expansion reflected continued investment in Nigeria’s industrial sector.
“Seventy-five years is not merely an anniversary; it is an argument; an argument that Nigeria is worth believing in, made not in words but in plant and payroll, and sustained across three generations.
“When an established company deepens its capacity, lengthens its local supply chains, and spreads opportunity across Nigeria, it is not merely expanding a business. It is helping to write the industrial story this country has resolved to tell,” he said.