New brewery goes green

SABMiller officially marked the start of construction of its 260,000 hectolitre brewery with a groundbreaking ceremony that took place earlier this week at Okahandja. The new Namibian brewery will be one of SABMiller’s most efficient and environmentally friendly breweries of this size in the world.
About 30 million non-returnable glass bottles and cardboard packaging currently used will be converted into returnable bottles and plastic crates helping to reduce landfill and CO2 emissions.
SAB Executive Chairman, Norman Adami, together with the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Hon Tjekero Tweya and Otjozondjuba Region Governor, Samuel Nuuyoma, officially broke ground on the 7,2 hectare land where the brewing complex will be built. Earlier this year, SABMiller received approval for the re-zoning of the land, which was recently transferred to the company.
Speaking at the ceremony, Adami said that SAB was proud to announce the start of construction on the Namibian brewery and was deeply excited about what it meant. “We believe in Namibia, we believe that competition is good for everyone and we do believe in the long term. We understand that it is a privilege to be here and that our duty is to operate as a force in the progress of the country by helping to lead the creation of a vibrant manufacturing sector; helping accelerate the emergence of small and medium businesses and helping to create a growing population of skilled employees by supporting education and providing training,” he said adding that to efficiently use Namibia’s most precious natural resource, the brewery will produce a lot of beer without using up too much water.
The total investment is around N$420-million a

nd it is anticipated that several hundred local people will be employed during construction and once it is operational, an estimated 100 full time jobs will be created. Although SABMiller will fully fund the project, SABMiller Namibia will be 60% owned by SABSA Holdings (Pty) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SABMiller, and 40% by local Namibian partners comprising 20% Onyewu Investments and 20% by three charitable trusts for the benefit of local communities
In his address, Hon Tjekero Tweya, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said that government has set its priority to diversify the economy by promoting the establishment of vibrant manufacturing and value adding to locally produced goods.