Comments
PepsiCo India on Wednesday said it will invest ₹778 crore to set up a greenfield foods manufacturing facility in Assam. This will be the company’s fifth snacks manufacturing facility in the country.
Spread over 44.2 acres, the plant is proposed to be operational in 2025 and aims to provide direct and indirect employment opportunities to 500 people.
A bhumi pujan ceremony was organised by the snacks and beverage major which was attended by Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, and key dignitaries from the State government. Eugene Willemsen, Chief Executive Officer – Africa, Middle East and South Asia, PepsiCo, and senior officials from the company were also present.
Willemsen said, “India stands as a robust cornerstone among the world’s leading economies, underscored by its impressive growth trajectory. India is amongst the fastest growing markets for PepsiCo in the AMESA region, and we are committed to invest in the nation to build capacity. This decade is a decade of India and at PepsiCo, we are focused on building capabilities, availability and expanding penetration across the nation.”
Women empowerment
The company said it has also signed a tripartite MoU with Assam Skill Development Mission and Directorate of Employment & Craftsman training for fostering women empowerment and creating a safe and supportive work environment to enhance women employability in the region. The company is targeting atleast 75 per cent women representation at the plant and intends to set up its first Community Learning Centre at Women’s ITI campus, Nalbari, to upskill women over the next two years.
The company will work with over 5,000 farmers in the next few years to source 50,000 tonnes of potatoes from the State, to produce Lay’s chips. ”The plant will also generate demand for cold storage capacity of 60,000 tonnes over the next few years,” it added.
Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India, said, “In alignment with the Government of India’s Self-Reliant India vision (Aatmanirbhar vision), our investment in the greenfield facility in Assam stands as a significant milestone in our pursuit of this goal.”
In recent times, the company has set up its largest foods manufacturing plant at Uttar Pradesh with total investments of ₹1,022 crore.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.