Uzbekistan: BBH’s Sarbast Plus to open brewery in Tashkent in June

The Sarbast Plus joint venture, which is controlled by Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH), is planning to launch production at a brewery in Tashkent in June 2007, a source at Sarbast told Interfax News Agency, March 29.

"We are planning to start production at the start of the season in June," the source said.

The construction of the brewery is in its final stages. "Technological equipment is being installed, and is 80%-85% completed," the company representative said.

The brewery will produce one new local brand in the premium segment to be sold in the country - Sarbast, which was developed with the use of European technologies.

The joint venture is not planning to produce the traditional BBH brands.

BBH and Sarbast Plus set up the Sarbast Plus joint venture in 2006. BBH has a 75.1% stake in the joint venture, while the Uzbek company owns 24.9%.

The new company is building a $59-million brewery in Tashkent. The brewery has projected production capacity of 1 million hectoliters of beer per year.

BBH said beer consumption in Uzbekistan, which has a population of 27 million, averages about ten liters per person per year. The Uzbek beer market has been developing steadily in recent years.

BBH is a joint company of Denmark's Carlsberg and Britain's Scottish & Newcastle. BBH manages 18 breweries in six Eastern European countries. BBH owns a more than 80% stake in Russia's Baltika Breweries.

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