Heineken has begun building its new $100m brewery in Mozambique, due to open in mid 2019
Heineken, the world’s #2 brewer, has announced that it has started construction of its new brewery in Marracuene, north of Maputo. The new brewery will cost $100m and be capable of brewing 800,000 hectolitres in its first year. Once the brewery is up and running, it will have capacity for 3.5m hectolitres annually and Heineken aims to source 60% of its raw materials locally.
Heineken is operating the brewery via its Central de Cervejas de Portugal subsidiary. Although the Dutch brewer entered the market in 2016 with its Heineken, Amstel, and Sagres brands, this is its first time brewing in Mozambique.
The new brewery is a serious show of intent which will see Heineken take on Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Cervejas de Mocambique (CDM). Cervejas de Mocambique is the longtime market leader in Mozambique and owns well-established brands including Laurentina, 2M and Manica, and the newer affordable brand Impala, the world’s first industrially produced cassava beer. CDM operates modern breweries in Maputo, Beira and Nampula.
In its the first three years, the new Heineken brewery will will also benefit from tax incentives. Breweries in Mozambique pay the Specific Consumption Tax of 40%. But under an amendment to the tax legislation approved in November 2o17, the tax rate for new breweries is 20% in Year 1, 25% in Year 2, and 30% in Year 3.