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AB InBev is looking to spend $250 million (R3.24 billion) on a greenfields expansion project in Nigeria, as well as spending $30 million on expanding its operations in Zambia and Ghana for a total investment of $310 million.

This is according to sources close to AB InBev who wished to remain anonymous.

Trevor Sanderson, the vice-president of supply and manufacturing at AB InBev and its subsidiary, SA Breweries (SAB), said AB InBev was planning to set up a new brewery in Nigeria and was working with the relevant authorities to ensure that all approvals were in place.

“We are constantly reviewing our businesses across Africa to assess opportunities, and we will be in a position to speak further about this in due course,” he added.

Ricardo Tadeu, president of the new Africa zone in AB InBev, said the multinational brewing company would announce “a package of investments in Africa in the next few months”.

These investments would comprise a mix of greenfield projects, an increase in brewing capacity as well as new packaging lines. Tadeu declined to provide figures for these investments.

Last week, SAB announced that it was investing R2.8 billion in brewery expansions at its Alrode and Rosslyn breweries in Gauteng and would introduce two new packaging lines for returnable glass bottles.

The SA expansion will create about 70 more jobs.

In October, AB InBev bought its global rival SABMiller for more than $100 billion. The last investment made by SABMiller in terms of new capacity in South Africa was in 2008. — fin24