The formal announcement of the investment follows the recent opening of a new brew house in the company’s Ogba brewery, which was commissioned in February by the UK minister for Africa Henry Bellingham MP. The investment will include an upgrade of existing facilities as well as an increase in the brewing capacity of both Benin and Ogba Breweries.
Devlin Hainsworth, managing director Guinness Nigeria said: “Nigeria is an exciting and vibrant place to do business, and the increased demand for our iconic brands such as Guinness and Harp, requires us to invest in our breweries and infrastructure. Guinness Nigeria is a significant contributor to economic growth through paying taxes to government, generating capital growth and distributing dividends to our many shareholders and creating broad-based wealth through our extensive value chain We are delighted that we will create a further 200 jobs for Nigerians upon completion of the project.”
Nick Blazquez, president Diageo Africa accompanying UK prime minister David Cameron to Nigeria said: “While originally a UK investment, Guinness Nigeria has become a truly iconic Nigerian company, so much so that Nigerians take pride in the fact that their country is the second biggest Guinness market in the world with ‘Nigerian’ Guinness now being exported to the United Kingdom!”
