Coca-Cola Opens for Business in Afghanistan
Coca-Cola, with its distinctive red-and-white logo, has come to Kabul marking a milestone in Afghanistan’s recent economic history. President Hamid Karzai opened the $25 million bottling plant in the capital's industrial complex of Bagrami, meaning sweet or fragrant. The ceremony began with the chanting of Qari Barakatullah Salim, Afghanistan's most famous Koran reciter. According to Coca-Cola, the Afghan-owned and operated plant will produce only non-alcoholic beverages and will initially produce Coke, Fanta and Sprite and soon make bottled water. Afghanistan continues to experience double-digit economic growth, and the Government of Afghanistan has identified the private sector as the driver of economic growth.
