Home--News
Coca-Cola Plant Opened in Kabul
AFP
September 10, 2006
Kabul, Afghanistan: President Hamid Karzai Sunday formally opened
a $25-million Coca-Cola bottling plant, one of the most significant
investments in Afghanistan since the ousting of the Taliban five years
ago.
Karzai said it was an endorsement of the government's efforts to push
ahead with reconstruction of the war-damaged country.
The plant had its first products, which will compete with imports
from Pakistan and Iran, on the streets of the capital in January.
Its initial formal opening was postponed in May after riots in which
hordes of men rampaged through the city, setting fire to buildings
and vehicles after a deadly traffic accident involving a United States
military vehicle.
The investment by a Dubai-based Afghan family is one of the biggest
in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Mobile telecommunications network Roshan
has spent about $180-million setting up here.
The Afghan government is trying to attract foreign investment to spur
an economy ruined by three decades of war.
But the country faces considerable odds, including a resurgent Taliban,
widespread corruption and a shattered infrastructure, with even the
capital only getting a sporadic supply of electricity.
FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. India Resource Center is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|