Dubai: Mars Incorporated, a global confectionary manufacturer, said on Monday that it has invested $60 million to expand its factory in Dubai.
The company has set up a production line for Snickers, a chocolate brand, at its facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), increasing production capacity from 60,000 to 100,000 tons per year, and creating more than 50 jobs.
The investment has increased the factory’s net assets from $100 million to $160 million.
The new line is part of a major expansion drive of Mars in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The company recently inaugurated a new factory in Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah City.
The facilities will help the company meet demand of the UAE and Saudi Arabian markets, as well as 30 additional markets across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) and the subcontinent, the company said in the statement.
Chocolate sales in Mena is expected to reach $5.8 billion in 2016, according to the statement.
Mars’ Jafza factory opened in 1998.
