Dutch brewing company Heineken is planning to build a new brewery in northern Mexico, which will see an investment of around $470m.
The proposed plant will be capable of producing nearly 5 million hectoliters of beer annually. The plant also has the potential to boost production to 10 million hectoliters in the future.
This facility is scheduled to become operational in the fourth quarter of 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Commenting on the development, Heineken Mexico CEO Marc Busain was quoted by the publication as saying that the plant will create 500 permanent jobs, while catering to the increasing demand for the company's brands in Mexico and the US.
The facility is the company's seventh brewery in the country and the country's 27th brewery.
Heineken made its entry into Mexico in 2010, by acquiring beverage and retail company Femsa's beer business Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma.
Besides Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev's Mexican unit Grupo Modelo had also announced plans to invest $150m in a brewery in the Yucatán Peninsula in January this year.
The Grupo Modelo's new brewery will have initial production capacity of 5 million hectoliters that will be further increased by 8%.
Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said that Mexican beer is currently being consumed in more than 180 countries.
The Mexican beer exports account to around $1.6bn every year, most of which is being exported to the US and Canada, added Guajardo.
Image: The proposed brewery will be Heineken's seventh brewery in Mexico. Photo: courtesy of Heineken N.V.
