South African glass container manufacturer Consol is reconsidering a R1.5 billion ($104.6 million) investment project that had been halted due to the Covid pandemic.
The manufacturer said it was revisiting the investment due to an increase in demand for glass in South Africa as well as to meet future anticipated demand.
“This is based on normalisation of glass bottle market demand towards the end of last year and continuing into this year as well as a more positive outlook from our customers on consumer spending,” it said.
“This decision, which is still to be made, must also be underpinned by a general recovery in the broader South African economy.”
Construction of a plant in Nigel, Gauteng, Johannesburg was halted last year due to alcohol bans in South Africa as a result of the pandemic.
The investment project would have added 130,000 tonnes of capacity to Consol’s output and doubled the Nigel plant’s capacity.
The combined effect of the various alcohol bans and lost bottle production and supply was valued at about R1 billion ($69.7 million).
