Coca-Cola unit has a new bottling plant in Cambodia

Longtime local corporate giant Coca-Cola said Monday its Cambodia bottling unit has opened a new bottling plant in Phnom Penh. This photo of Coke’s downtown Atlanta headquarters is by former AJC staff photographer David Tulis.

Longtime local corporate giant Coca-Cola said Monday its Cambodia bottling unit has opened a new bottling plant in Phnom Penh. This photo of Coke’s downtown Atlanta headquarters is by former AJC staff photographer David Tulis.

Coca-Cola’s bottling unit in Cambodia has opened a new bottling plant in Phnom Penh as part of its plans to invest $100 million in the southeast Asian country by 2018.

The Atlanta soft drink company said the new “green field” factory was inaugurated by Cambodia’s prime minister in a Monday ceremony.

“The new factory re-affirms our strong belief in this country, and helps us to capture the growth opportunities in this young, increasingly competitive and dynamic marketplace,” said Irial Finan, Coca-Cola executive vice president and head of its Bottling Investments Group.

Coca-Cola has generally been going the opposite direction lately, selling off bottling units to focus more on its brands.

The Cambodia Beverage Company bottling unit is expected to create about 300 direct jobs in its operations, said Coca-Cola, which owns the bottling company.

The plant also is expected to generate about 1,800 indirect jobs in businesses that support the plant or its workers, including packaging and transportation, according to Coca-Cola.

The plant began operations in July with two production lines, and is expected to add three more lines by 2025, Coca-Cola said.