ZHENGZHOU -- A new factory of Swire Coca-Cola Ltd, a bottler of Coca-Cola, was put into operation Thursday in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province.

The new factory is the first world-class factory that has been unveiled in the company's 12 billion-yuan (1.69 billion-US dollar) investment commitment in China. It covers an area of nearly 200 mu (13.33 hectares), with an investment of over 900 million yuan and an annual production capacity of over 1 million tonnes, catering to nearly 100 million consumers in central China.

"The Chinese market has always been an important engine driving the stable operation of Swire Coca-Cola," said Karen So, CEO of Swire Coca-Cola Ltd.

The new factory in Zhengzhou integrates the most comprehensive and sustainable practices and continuous innovation accumulated by the company over 60 years of development. This conveys Swire Coca-Cola's long-term commitment to being deeply rooted in the Chinese market and contributing to high-quality development, she added.

The factory highlights green and intelligent elements. It has more than 30 green and low-carbon measures, including smart hot water centers, refrigeration and photovoltaic power generation.

With over 30 digital systems seamlessly integrated, intelligent scheduling can be achieved throughout the entire process, from order placement and inventory to packaging and shipping, utilizing sorting robots and automated guided vehicles.

The Coca-Cola Company stated that it will adopt these intelligent and sustainable practices across its production bases nationwide to foster a more sustainable business and resilient supply chain.

Over the past three years, the Coca-Cola system in China has invested in upgrading five production bases, covering areas such as facility construction, production capacity expansion and smart technology integration.

To meet the demands of the Chinese market, in 2023, Swire Coca-Cola announced a plan to invest over 12 billion yuan in the Chinese mainland over the next decade, mainly for expanding production capacity.

The company's production base project in south China's Hainan province will start construction at the end of 2025. The new factory in east China's Suzhou City, Jiangsu province, and the Greater Bay Area production base in south China's Guangdong province will be put into operation in 2026.