Bangladesh to Build First Aluminium Beverage Can Plant with $100m Investment

South Asia’s beverage-can manufacturing capacity continues to expand, with Bangladesh preparing to enter the industry through a USD 100 million aluminium beverage can plant while new and expanded facilities advance across India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, the planned Bangladeshi project still faces a key infrastructure hurdle: securing a gas connection before production begins.

Chinese-owned Alu Hi-Tech Industries Ltd is developing Bangladesh’s first aluminium beverage can plant at Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur, north of Dhaka. The facility is designed to produce around 1 billion cans annually, with approximately 90 per cent of its output earmarked for export markets.

The company registered with the hi-tech park in 2024, when work on the project began. Construction has progressed to the completion of the basement, and the company aims to finish the remaining building work within eight months. Production is expected to begin in the second half of 2027, according to the reported timeline.

Gas supply remains a key hurdle

The project’s schedule depends partly on securing a reliable gas connection. Alu Hi-Tech Industries has asked the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) for assistance in obtaining the supply needed to operate the facility.

“We have held a meeting with the company this month and collected information about its gas requirements,” said Md Fazlur Rahman, managing director of BHTPA. “Work is underway to address the issue.”

Rahman said the authority was in contact with the relevant ministries and hoped gas would be available by the time the plant was ready to begin production.

Machinery and raw materials for the facility will be sourced from China, although the company has not named its equipment suppliers. These imported inputs also mean that the project’s eventual contribution to Bangladesh’s foreign-exchange position will depend on its production and export performance.

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Bangladesh seeks to replace imports and build export capacity

Bangladesh currently imports its beverage cans, creating demand for foreign currency. Brands sold in the country in cans include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Mirinda, Mountain Dew and local soft drink Mojo, as well as the energy drink Power.

The new plant is expected to introduce domestic manufacturing capacity while targeting overseas customers. According to managing director Yuan Dingyan, the relatively small size of Bangladesh’s domestic market means exports will account for most of the planned output.

“Since the Bangladesh market is comparatively small, about 90% of total production will be exported abroad,” he said, according to the Bengali edition of The Business Standard.

The extent to which the project reduces import dependence will depend on its actual output and export volumes, given that both its machinery and aluminium will be imported.

New plants and capacity expansions across South Asia

Bangladesh’s proposed facility joins a growing pipeline of beverage-can investments across the region.

In India, Crown broke ground on a plant in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, in September. Canpack and AGI Greenpac are also developing facilities in the state, while Ball has announced plans for a third Indian plant in 2029.

In Pakistan, Pakistan Aluminium Beverage Cans has expanded capacity at its Faisalabad facility to 1.3 billion cans annually and is planning a plant in Afghanistan. Separately, a USD 120 million beverage-can plant is under construction in Herat, Afghanistan.

The developments point to continued investment in regional beverage packaging capacity, although the supplied information does not establish how much of the planned output will be absorbed by local markets or exported.

Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, located around 40 kilometres from Dhaka, has primarily attracted electronics manufacturers, including Xiaomi, Honor and Hyundai. In August, the government said the park had secured USD 283 million in investment against proposed investments worth USD 1.64 billion.

Alu Hi-Tech Industries’ project would add aluminium beverage-can manufacturing to the park’s industrial base, provided construction and the outstanding gas-supply arrangements progress as planned.

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