Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) has announced that it is investing $63 million (about P3.06 billion) in the Philippines this year to upgrade its factories, adding that it never retrenched any of its workers or associates amid the coronarivus disease 2019 pandemic.

“The $63 million investment will primarily go to continuing to increase our capacity, specifically this time in Luzon. Last year, we invested heavily in Mindanao because we saw lots of growth potential in Mindanao. For 2021, we’re going to invest in more production capacity primarily in our Sta. Rosa, Laguna plant,” CCBPI President and Chief Executive Officer Gareth McGeown said in a virtual media roundtable on Tuesday.

McGeown added that the investment is the “first tranche for 2021” as CCBPI is committed to continuing its investments to ramp up its production capacity in manufacturing, upgrading facilities and logistics.

Just last month, the beverage firm inaugurated new distribution hubs in Manila and Malabon, as well as its advanced glass bottle manufacturing line in its Davao del Sur plant.

Aside from its factory in Davao del Sur, CCBPI’s facilities in Misamis Oriental and Zamboanga increased the production capacity in the Mindanao region by 30 percent.

A new line in Luzon has been installed to increase production capacity in the Greater Manila Area and south Luzon.

By the fourth quarter of 2021, CCBPI will start operating PETValue Philippines, a polyethylene terephthalate or PET bottle recycling facility venture with Indorama Ventures.

The recycling facility can process 45,000 metric tons of plastic bottles annually.

“With people being at the center of everything we do, we at Coca-Cola continue to champion our People First philosophy, which centers around ensuring job security and the total well-being of our associates,” McGeown said. “We consider it our biggest win that we have left no one behind as we didn’t have to let go any one of our more than 10,000 associates.