Anheuser-Busch will build a new brewery in the Fengnan District of Tangshan to replace a smaller downtown brewery.
The move supports the local government's efforts to relocate industrial facilities outside the city and redevelop Tangshan's downtown into a more residential and commercial area.
Scheduled for completion in late 2009, the new Tangshan brewery will be built on a 160,000 square meter site and cost US$49 million for the first phase. The facility will have an initial production capacity of 3.1 million hectoliters. After the project is completed, the old Tangshan brewery will be closed and the site will be prepared for future residential or commercial development.
A new, larger Tangshan brewery will support Anheuser-Busch's growth in China, which includes the Budweiser family of brands as well as the Harbin and Tang beers. In 2004, Anheuser-Busch acquired Harbin Brewery Group and its 13 breweries. Harbin is China's oldest brewery, founded in 1900, and holds a leading position in Northeast China.