Coast Development Authority MD Mohamed Keinan (right) and director Beatrice Gambo on a tour of the water bottling plant in Hola, Tana River County. [Robert Mwenza, Standard]
Coast Development Authority (CDA) has unveiled the first bottled water plant in Tana River County.
The water is packed at the Integrated Fruit Processing Plant (IFPP) in Boji, Hola under the brand name Tana Best.
CDA Managing Director Mohamed Keinan said they have upgraded the fruit juice manufacturing equipment to include a water production line.
“We have injected Sh7.5 million to install state-of-the-art water treatment and packaging equipment,” he said, adding that appropriate planning and research was done to ensure the new product is successful.
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Dr Keinan said development projects in the coastal region are being aligned with the national government’s agenda of universal healthcare, affordable housing, food security and manufacturing.
He said the new venture into water bottling was to complement the mango processing plant during the fruit’s off-season.
“The factory has permanent employees so we had to explore options to keep the factory functioning round the year and employees busy,” he said.
Keinan spoke during the product launch accompanied by board directors Beatrice Gambo and Amina Abdalla.
He said plans are underway to upgrade the IFPP to a multi-fruit juice facility to include pineapples, watermelon, chilli and tomato sauce with carton packaging.
The water plant has a packaging capacity to pack 4,000 bottles an hour.
