Africa - Biggest Bottle Factory Under Construction In Ethiopia

A bottle factory costing US$45.5m is being constructed in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The US-invested factory is "the largest and most modern of its kind in Africa" and is expected to be operational by mid-2001, according to Michael Asress, managing director of Summit Partners Ethiopia Ltd., which is involved in the project. The factory, with some 1000 employees, will be able to produce 130m retrievable glass and non-retrievable plastic bottles annually. The company expects to export a substantial amount of its products to African countries, the Middle East and Asia, Michael said. (whole item)