Nestlé Waters Signs Agreement with UAE's Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones to Build New Factory in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, 27 April 2016: Nestlé Waters has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (ZonesCorp) to build a 100 million Emirati Dirhams water factory in Abu Dhabi.
 
The 30-year lease covers a 43,000 m2 plot, with construction beginning this year and opening planned for 2018. The completed factory is expected to provide up to 100 jobs in its first few years of operation, producing Nestlé Pure Life brand for the United Arab Emirates and lower Gulf.

“Abu Dhabi is the perfect location to establish a new water plant, as it offers many advantages for the smooth running of the facility, and a strategic location for distribution within the UAE and lower gulf countries,” said Walid Zamamiri, Managing Director at Nestlé Waters for the Lower Gulf

The factory will be Nestlé Waters’ 16th in the Middle East and second in the UAE, where an existing plant has been operational at Al-Qouz Industrial Area since 2003, then relocated to TechnoPark in the Jebel Ali Free zone in Dubai in 2010.

The contract was signed yesterday at a signing ceremony during the UAE investment forum at the Hannover Messe. As part of its commitment to showcase its partner companies and share its expertise and knowledge, ZonesCorp is leading a high level delegation of 19 important industrial manufacturing companies to the prestigious ‘Hannover Messe’, the world’s biggest industrial trade fair in Hannover, Germany

“We are delighted to have Nestlé as a partner, as the company is an excellent addition to Industrial City - Abu Dhabi (ICAD) 3 and our food and beverage cluster; more widely this partnership reflects ZonesCorp’s strategy to increase the number of food and beverage sector investments within our economic zones,” said HE Saeed Issa Al Khaili, Acting Chief Executive Officer at ZonesCorp. “We look forward to a longstanding partnership and to adding the new factory to the list of world-class facilities operating in the specialized economic zones in Abu Dhabi. This investment by Nestlé further demonstrates ZonesCorp’s ability to attract leading global brands to our Industrial Cities.”
 
The new factory responds to increasing demand for high quality bottled water brands in the region. It will be built to the highest standards in environmental sustainability, making it one of the most water- and energy-efficient bottling facilities, in line with commitments made in the first Nestlé in Society report for the Middle East, published in 2015, in which the company vowed to “Work to achieve water efficiency and sustainability across our operations,” and “Improve resource efficiency in our operations.” 

We will ensure that our factory is water efficient and that it benefits the local communities. In the Middle East, our 15 water factories have improved the water efficiency of their bottling activities by 40% in the last four years, resulting in water savings of 1.8 million m3.

In addition to its production investments in the country, Nestlé is also committed to “Promote healthy hydration as part of a healthy lifestyle,” as published in the Nestlé in Society report for the Middle East. Nestlé Waters collaborates with international NGO Project WET to raise awareness among children about water conservation, with initiatives so far reaching nearly 22,000 active participants among students and teachers in schools across the UAE since 2010.