DELTA Corporation (Delta), Zimbabwe’s largest beverages manufacture, yesterday said it had invested $260 000 towards the upgrade of a road junction near its Fairbridge Chibuku Super plant.
This comes as an upgrade of the plant at Fairbridge in 2016 gave rise to an increase of traffic, particularly the heavy motor vehicles that ferry raw materials and finished product.
“It became necessary to improve the safety of traffic entering the highway or manoeuvering from the highway into the premises,” the company said in a statement.
The upgrade will be on a road junction that links the Fairbridge plant with the major Harare to Bulawayo highway.
The company says it is undertaking the projects with the support of the Ministry of Roads, the Traffic Safety Board, Ministry of Local Government and Zimbabwe National Roads Administration among other organisations.
“This project fits well into Delta’s integrated and sustainable development framework which was part of the Brewery redevelopment in 2015/16,” Delta said.
The company invested in an effluent line to service the Umguza communities, the Fairbridge Police Camp and the Brewery at a cost of $2,7million. The water line supplying the Umguza community from Bulawayo City was also upgraded.
“This accords well with the company’s thrust to improve livelihoods and help build communities,” the company said.
Delta is is involved in the brewing of lager and traditional beer and the bottling of soft drinks under license from the Coca Cola Company under the Delta Beverages Company.
Delta Beverages a division of Delta Corporation is the country’s leading brewer with more than 15 beer brands and some more than 4 000 employees across the country. The company operates one of the largest distribution networks of depots and delivery fleets in Zimbabwe. The company also has a significant interest in Schweppes Zimbabwe which manufactures still and juice drinks under the Coca- Cola franchise.
During the quarter June 2018, the business continued to record positive volume trends with Lager beer volume increasing by 56 percent. The company said product supply remained largely stable, while imported inputs remained a constraint.
Sparkling beverages volume increased by 23 percent over prior year for the quarter. The company says the soft drinks category was adversely affected by the challenges in securing imported raw materials, leading to extended periods of production stoppages and out of stock situations.
newsdesk@fingaz.co.zw
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