Rs 1,200 crore Buxar facility to generate over 1,000 jobs and strengthen eastern India’s beverage supply chain
SLMG Beverages, one of India’s largest bottling partners of The Coca-Cola Company, has inaugurated what it describes as South Asia’s largest Coca-Cola bottling plant in Nawanagar, Buxar, marking a significant milestone in Bihar’s industrial expansion.
The greenfield facility, developed with an investment exceeding Rs 1,200 crore, was formally inaugurated on 1 March 2026 in the presence of Samrat Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, and Dr Dilip Jaiswal, Minister of Industries, Government of Bihar, along with senior public representatives and administrative officials.
Addressing the gathering, Samrat Choudhary said the plant represents Bihar’s accelerating industrial transformation. “This state-of-the-art facility will not only strengthen the state’s economy but also create new employment opportunities at the local level. Partnerships between government and industry are crucial for Bihar’s holistic development,” he noted.
Dr Dilip Jaiswal added that the state remains committed to welcoming industrial investors and termed the project a “monumental step” towards strengthening Bihar’s manufacturing ecosystem.
Strategic Manufacturing Hub for Eastern India
The Buxar plant is the first Coca-Cola bottling facility in Bihar operated by SLMG Beverages and will serve as a primary supply hub for the state and neighbouring markets, including eastern Uttar Pradesh. By localising production closer to consumption centres, the facility is expected to lower logistics costs, enhance supply responsiveness and ensure fresher product availability during peak demand seasons.
Spread across approximately 65 acres, the plant houses seven high-speed production lines with a combined installed capacity of over 5,000 bottles per minute. The multi-category facility manufactures carbonated soft drinks, fruit juices, packaged drinking water and aseptic beverages. Advanced PET bottle technology deployed at the site extends product shelf life to up to eight months.
The plant has also been designed with capacity for future expansion to cater to rising demand across eastern and central India.
Sustainability and Smart Manufacturing
Sustainability forms a core pillar of the facility’s design. Nearly 40 per cent of the land has been allocated to green belt development. The plant incorporates advanced wastewater treatment and reuse systems, energy-efficient lighting and rice husk-based biofuel to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Automated machinery, AI-enabled quality control systems and digital monitoring infrastructure position the facility among India’s most technologically advanced beverage manufacturing units.
In a statement, the Ladhani family, owners of SLMG Beverages, described the project as a “transformative investment” for both the company and the state. The company highlighted that the plant represents its eighth production line and will create over 1,200 direct jobs, in addition to thousands of indirect employment opportunities across logistics, distribution and ancillary sectors. The company emphasised a focus on local hiring, gender diversity and adherence to global safety standards.
Strengthening Regional Infrastructure
Beyond manufacturing output, the project is expected to catalyse infrastructure upgrades in the surrounding industrial area, including improved connectivity and enhanced power reliability.
Headquartered in Lucknow, SLMG Beverages is the flagship beverage company of the Ladhani Group and operates eight manufacturing plants across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. With a distribution network spanning more than 3,000 distributors, over 30 warehouses and access to 1.5 million retail outlets, the company continues to expand its footprint in India’s fast-growing packaged beverages market.
The Buxar facility not only reinforces SLMG’s long-standing partnership with The Coca-Cola Company but also signals Bihar’s growing prominence as an emerging manufacturing hub in eastern India.
