Coca-Cola opens first factory in Gaza Strip

GAZA CITY: Coca-Cola formally has opened its first factory in the Gaza Strip, the company announced, in a move that could create hundreds of jobs in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave.

The bottling facility had been partially open for several months but began full operations after a ceremony on Wednesday.

The $20-million (19-million euro) investment is the company’s first plant in Gaza and will create around 120 jobs immediately, a statement said, with an eventual expansion to 270.

“The opening of our first Gaza plant is an important milestone,” Zahi Khouri, said the founder and chairman of National Beverage Company (NBC) responsible for CocaCola in the Palestinian territories.

“Our new Gaza plant shows our ongoing commitment to investing and supporting progress in communities around the world,” Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola CEO, said in a statement.

There are three other NBC bottling facilities in the West Bank but the new Gaza plant could be a bonus for the struggling enclave’s economy.

The unemployment rate in the coastal territory is over 40 per cent, with close to two-thirds of young people out of work.

The United Nations has estimated the Palestinian economy could double in size if the Israeli occupation ended. — AFP