Nestlé to invest over Dh500m to build manufacturing facility at Dubai World Central

Dubai, June 27, 2012 (WAM) - H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Dubai Aviation City Corporation has yesterday (June 26, 2012) received Walter the Swiss Consul General Deplazes and Chairman '&' CEO Nestlé Middle East Yves Manghardt. The visit comes after Nestlé's CEO signed a partnership agreement with Dubai World Central (DWC) for a 175,000 square meter-plot. An initial investment of over Dhs500m has been earmarked by Nestlé for the manufacturing facility for nutrition, culinary and coffee products. H.H. Sheikh Ahmed said, "DWC offers strategic advantages that make it an ideal and attractive destination for leading multinationals. It is an important component in Dubai's vision to provide a comprehensive platform that caters to the needs of aviation, air transport, commercial and logistics businesses. This partnership with Nestlé reaffirms DWC's role as a catalyst for growth and a new gateway for long-term economic and social development in Dubai and across the region." Chairman '&' CEO Nestlé Middle East Yves Manghardt said: "Nestlé is committed to strengthening our presence in the Middle East markets. We will continue to invest in projects that enable us to better serve consumers in the region, while leveraging the strategic advantages of DWC and the UAE in general as a distribution and manufacturing base." Technical Director at Nestlé Hans Juergen Jung said: "Producing locally allows us to bring products faster and therefore fresher to consumers. This is a clear advantage we already experience with our many manufacturing plants in the Middle East. The construction of a new facility at Dubai World Central strengthens our local manufacturing capabilities, giving us more flexibility in adopting our products to local consumer preferences and using local and regional raw materials. This second production facility in Dubai will also open opportunities to gain synergies in our warehousing and logistics to serve the whole Middle East Region." Nestlé further revealed that the new facilities are expected to generate up to 800 additional jobs thus complementing DWC's commitment to reflecting the government strategy of Dubai and UAE in terms of economic and social development. DWC has already attracted a number of global companies including Aramex, Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions, Kuehne + Nagel, Schaefer Systems International, Panalpina, Hellmann Caliper, INL and RSA Logistics. – Emirates News Agency, WAM