SABMiller has started production of Southern Sudan’s first locally produced beer, the brewing giant said on Friday.
Spokesperson Jonathan Oates said White Bull Lager was specifically brewed to meet the tastes of the Southern Sudanese consumer and was the culmination of months of planning and testing.
The lager would be produced by SABMiller’s subsidiary company Southern Sudan Beverages (SSBL).
”The White Bull is an easily recognised cultural symbol for the people of Southern Sudan, and is synonymous with promoting the positive feelings of celebration, success and peace,” Oates said.
The SSBL team spent months getting to know the Southern Sudan consumer, their tastes, their demands, and their expectations, he added.
The new beverage plant was the first local manufacturing facility in Southern Sudan’s capital city, Juba.
The plant has the capacity to brew 180 000hl of clear beer and 60 000hl of carbonated soft drinks annually, the company said.
SABMiller now has interests in 35 African countries.
”Southern Sudan has immense potential and we are delighted to be putting beverage production on the map in this country,” said Mark Bowman, managing director of SABMiller Africa.
”Up until now, people have only had access to beers and soft drinks imported from elsewhere.”
The $37-million investment would create employment for hundreds of people.
The local Juba community had a pioneering land lease agreement with SABMiller that would ensure they received royalties from the development, the brewing giant said.
The brewery would also provide the local communities with clean drinkable water that it extracted from the Nile and purified. – Sapa