BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 4. Azerbaijan Coca-Cola Bottlers Ltd. is set to commission its first production line in Ismayilli in 2025, the company's Senior Director of Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Eurasia and the Middle East, Elshad Farzaliyev told Trend.
"In May 2024, we began construction on a new plant in Ismayilli with an investment of 68 million manat ($40 million). The first production line is scheduled to launch in 2025," stated the regional director.
This plant is based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed on February 1, 2021, between Azerbaijan Coca-Cola Bottlers Ltd. (a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Icecek, part of Türkiye's Anadolu Group) and the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan.
It will be the second Coca-Cola plant in Azerbaijan, with the first one located near Baku.
The plant is being constructed on a 15-hectare site in Ismayilli, with the first production line designed to produce 165 million liters per year of beverages such as Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Sprite.
Under the Investment Encouragement Document provided by the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, the enterprise received a 50 percent discount on income and profit taxes for a seven-year period.
Additionally, the enterprise is exempt from property and land taxes, VAT, and customs duties on the import of machinery, technological equipment, and installations for seven years.
The new plant will create 100 jobs.
"Initially, production at the Ismayilli plant will be less than the capacity of Coca-Cola's Baku plant, but an additional production line is planned for the future," added Farzaliyev.
To note, the Coca-Cola company has been operating in Azerbaijan since 1994 and is one of the major taxpayers in the country's non-oil industry.
