Tetra Pak, one of the world's leading food processing and packaging solutions company, has sealed a Dh25-million ($6.8 million) deal to provide and construct processing and packaging lines for Binghatti Holding’s new food and beverage production plant located at the Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi (Kizad).

Binghatti is an international investment holding company headquartered in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) with focus on high-growth potential projects in the real estate, hospitality, education, industrial, construction and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sectors.

In the FMCG circles, the company is widely known for the Raubi brand of juices across the region. The brand is being supported by Binghatti’s own FMCG distribution companies in the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and London.

The agreement, which could be expanded, comes on the heels of Binghatti’s recent Dh250 million ($68 million) investment in its Kizad-based production facility.

Niels Hougaard, the managing director at Tetra Pak Arabia Area, said: "We are very happy to have reached this agreement with Binghatti. They are the gold-standard of the regional FMCG sector and, with our equally respected manufacturing and packaging expertise, we think this is a mutually beneficial agreement that guarantees quality at all stages of the process."

On completion, the plant at Kizad will be capable of producing 10 million cases in its first year, with the capability of increasing to 40 million cases per year.

Ahmed Binghatti, the chief financial officer and head of investments at Binghatti Holding, pointed out that Tetra Pak sets the world standard when it comes to processing plants.

"The fantastic team at Tetra Pak has done an excellent job of tailoring the perfect solution for our requirements and we are very much looking forward to further developing our relationship with them," he added.

The production lines are likely to be installed during the first quarter of 2017 with the first commercial production run expected towards the end of Q2.

The FMCG products from the Kizad plant will be distributed in the UAE and exported via Khalifa Port to countries across the Mena region with plans to expand exports to Europe and the Far East.-TradeArabia News Service