Tanzania: AB InBev to build $100 mln brewery in Tanzania

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, plans to invest $100 million in a new brewery in Tanzania, where beer volumes jumped by a fifth last year, pointing to potential pressure on capacity, Bloomberg reported on March 19.

The company, which operates locally as Tanzania Breweries, has four breweries in the country and a commanding lead with brands such as Castle Lite and Kilimanjaro Lager.

“At the current growth rate in Tanzania, we expect to reach the maximum capacity of our current breweries by 2020,” said Roberto Jarrin, AB InBev president of the East Africa business.

Construction of the brewery in the political capital of Dodoma will start next year and production was expected to commence in the second half of 2020, Jarrin said.

It will have an initial capacity of 1 million hectolitres, he added. The brewer competes with Diageo’s East African Breweries in Tanzania.

The new investment was announced on Monday after a meeting between President John Magufuli and executives from AB InBev.

“This is the right time to do business (in Tanzania), but you must pay your taxes,” the president’s office quoted Magufuli as telling investors.

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