GUANGZHOU - The construction of a new factory of Swire Coca-Cola Ltd, a bottler of Coca-Cola, with an investment of 1.25 billion yuan ($175.89 million), started Tuesday in South China's economic powerhouse province of Guangdong.

Covering an area of some 128,000 square meters, the company's new factory will boast 11 new beverage production lines, multi-tier warehouses and supporting facilities, with an expected increase in annual production capacity of approximately 66 percent compared to the current level of the company's Guangdong branch.

According to the company, the new facility will be a green, intelligent, environmentally friendly and diversified world-class plant.

"The Chinese mainland has become a crucial driver of our company's continuous growth. We constantly draw inspiration from this market, fueling our innovation," said Karen So, managing director of Swire Coca-Cola.

She added that the company will continue to increase its investment in China, expecting the investment in the market to exceed 12 billion yuan from 2023 to 2032. "Expanding our operations in such a vibrant and fast-growing market is really exciting," she said.

As Coca-Cola's fifth largest bottler in the world by sales volume, Swire Coca-Cola operates five bottling plants in Guangdong with a total of 14 modern production lines, serving more than 90 million consumers.