Raya Brewery Share Company is set to inaugurate its two billion birr beer plant today constructed in the historic town of Maychew which is completed in recored time of one year and two months, one of the fastest industries to be erected in country.
Located 120 kilometers away from Mekele, the capital of Tigray Regional State, Maychew is historic for it was the very town where the Italian occupation force crushed the strong Ethiopian resistance after fierce battle in 1935. Now, the town is home to Raya a new beer brand that is preparing to enter the already toughening market. The brewery would have an installed capacity of producing 710,000 hectoliters annually.
The share company is spearheaded by many prominent individuals like former army chief of staff, Tsadkan Gebretinsae, former head of Ethiopian Shipping Lines, Ambachew Abraha, and former president of both the Addis Ababa and the Ethiopian chambers of commerce and sectoral associations, Eyesuswork Zafu. The project is among a few in Ethiopia which have managed to live up to the preset timetable. Executive of the company told The Reporter that they have worked to make sure the construction is finished within the timetable.
A consortium of companies from Czech Republic and one more from Germany were hired to do the installation and commissioning job at the new brewery for which they collected a total payment of 670 million birr.
As it stands at moment, BGI Ethiopia owns a major stake in Raya beer, with 42 percent shares, followed by the Dubai-based businessman Dawit Gebregziabher, holding another 25 percent of the brewery. Apart from the financial resources that the company raised from its shareholders, it has also secured a loan of 910 million birr from the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) to finance the its project.
Apart from Raya, two other new brands are expected to join the Ethiopian beer market in the future. One is Habesha Beer, currently under construction, and which will have an installed capacity of 350,000 hectoliters. According to the officials of Habesha, the brewery will inaugurate its plant after two months. Meanwhile, another one Zebider Beer with a capacity of 300,000 hectoliters is expected to enter the market soon.
So far, he total beer production in the market is around 5.5 million hectoliters excluding the above mentioned new entrants into the market. Meanwhile, the per capita consumption of beer in Ethiopia, 4 liters per annum, which is said to be one of the lowest in the continent and among the country’s neighbors in Sub-Saharan Africa.
On the other hand, the Ethiopia beer market is being dominated by breweries whose majority stake is owned by foreign companies. With 42 percent of Raya owned by BGI, Habesha – one of the prospective market entrants – is 60 percent owned by Bavaria NV, a Dutch beer company, not to mention the beer giants like Heineken and known spirit and alcohol maker Digeo which are already operating in the market.