The construction of the new concentrate plant of Coca-Cola Company, in Liberia, Guanacaste, will generate 250 direct jobs during the next 17 months.
The announcement transpired this Saturday, July 21st, at an official ceremony in which President Carlos Alvarado laid the first stone of the US$ 50 million project, which should go into operation on January 1st, 2020.
According to William Segura, manager of Public Affairs and Communications of Coca-Cola for Central America, during the construction phase of the industrial building of 34,000 m² will require the labor of about 250 people, all native of the Chorotega Region, where unemployment rounds down 11%, according to the last quarterly report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).
The plant will be located in front of the Daniel Oduber Quirós international airport, within the Zona Franca Solarium, on a 103,000 m² plot. The industrial building will double in size the old La Uruca plant in San José, which will stop operating at the end of 2019.
From these facilities will be producing the concentrate of the famous Coca-Cola and 89 drinks that are exported to Central America, the Caribbean, Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Once they arrive in these countries, the different bottling companies pack them and put them on the market for sale.
“As part of the novelties, this new center will use robots to make the packaging of certain products, it will have different systems to give traceability to the materials, it will have systems for the monitoring of lighting, air conditioning, and refrigeration system, to avoid waste and as part of its contribution to the environment, the building will use solar panels installed in the parking areas”, adds a statement released during the official ceremony. In addition, it will have a wastewater treatment and process plant.
At present, Coca-Cola Company has 19 locations of concentrates in the world, including those located in the United States, Brazil, Ireland, and Costa Rica.
Jobs
“The plant is expected to start operations as of January 1, 2020, and have 130 direct collaborators in the Pampas of Guanacaste. According to data from CINDE, it is projected that with the arrival of Coca-Cola in Liberia, an additional 100 indirect jobs will be generated in this region, creating a positive impact on the surrounding communities”, explained William Segura.
Currently, La Uruca headquarters has between 100 and 110 direct employees who were offered the transfer to Guanacaste. If they do not accept the proposal, the 130 seats mentioned above will be completed with personnel from that province.
In this industrial warehouse will work operators in the manufacturing area, aside from engineers from different areas, microbiologists, industrial chemists, business managers, accountants, and specialists in human resources, among others. In addition, among the indirect positions, it will be considered to hire employees of security and food, for example.
President Carlos Alvarado stressed that the new plant will contribute to strengthening the strategy of his government to promote territorial development, with the generation of employment in each region.
He also took the opportunity to thank Coca-Cola for its decision to expand its presence in the country with the construction of this structure, which will have a significant impact on local economic development.
“Costa Rica has the necessary conditions to attract investment. It is our job to continue fostering these conditions, improve them and thus contribute to the generation of employment in each region”, the president added in a post on his Facebook account.
For his part, the president of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (Cinde), Luis Gamboa, said that the arrival of Coca-Cola to the province leads to quality jobs for Guanacastecans.
“We are confident that local human talent will help the company to consolidate its operation and we hope that in the future new jobs can be created thanks to the growth of the business”, he added.
Last Saturday, the transnational also announced the installation of 2 drinkable water storage tanks with a capacity of 22,000 liters that will facilitate the supply in the community of El Salto de Liberia. These deposits, plus a new distribution system, will improve the local aqueduct that supplies water to 1,280 residents.
