SABMiller ploughs on in Namibia
Re-zoning requirements have delayed the brewery build
More than two years after announcing its plans to build a greenfield brewery in Namibia, SABMiller says it remains committed to the much-delayed project. The brewer blamed unexpected delays in the re-zoning of the land involved, saying that final approval for the zoning has now been received.
SABMiller has begun updating the business plan for the new brewery and will review the designs and costings over the coming months. The current plan is to build a 220,000 hectolitre brewery on a 7.2 hectares site at Okahandja, 70 kilometres north of the Namibian capital, Windhoek. Castle and Carling Black Label will be brewed there, at what will be SABMiller’s first Namibian brewery.
Contracts for the brewhouse and equipment are yet to be awarded, and SABMiller told Brewers’ Guardian that it is ‘in the process of engaging with suppliers regarding the construction of the brewery and acquisition of the equipment’. The brewer also stated that the start date for construction would not be determined until the design and spaceplan evaluation had been completed.
