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Juniper Glass Industries, an Ethiopian glass manufacturing company, said today that it has secured all regulatory approvals to conclude the final investments in its $70 million greenfield container glass factory in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia. The company also said that it secured a 565 million Ethiopian Birr (about $25 million) loan from the Development Bank of Ethiopia to finance the project.

"We are grateful for the support of the various government entities who have played a role in getting us to where we are, including the Debre Birhan Municipality, Amhara National Regional State, and Federal agencies," said Brooks Washington, Juniper Glass’ CEO.

Ethiopia has a growing local demand for glass and bottles owing to the rapid expansion of the country’s beverage and alcoholic industries. The East African country currently relies on expensive imports to meet about half of its glass consumption, according to media reports.

Juniper’s state-of-the-art factory will have a capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of glass or over 200 million glass bottles annually to supply local and regional markets. Juniper said it will allocate the majority of its glass products to replace imports as part of a deal with bottlers in Ethiopia. The factory will be completed in 2018.

The consortium behind Juniper comprises of Roha Ventures, a South African investment company, and Consol Glass, the largest glass packaging company in Sub-Saharan Africa with manufacturing facilities in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

"Our partnership with Consol, together with the support from the Development Bank of Ethiopia, will help us to realise our mission and meet the growing demand for high-quality glass bottles,” Washington said. “Perhaps more significantly, it will contribute to Ethiopia's economic development by innovating, building human capacity and leveraging technology."