The government eyes Carib Beer to revive brewery

The government may be leaning towards the producers of Carib Beer in Trinidad and Tobago to help revive Antigua and Barbuda’s old brewery.
Information Minister Melford Nicholas said the government has invited officials from Carib Beer, to address the possible establishment of a brewery in Antigua.
“It is our expectation that this initiative will yield some fruit in the new year,” Nicholas told a post Cabinet Press Briefing yesterday.
The Carib Beer has breweries in St. Kitts, Grenada and Trinidad; the group also has a brewery in Florida.
The company produces bottled and draft beer as well as many non-alcoholic beverages.
Nicholas said that Carib has the capaility to invest US $30 million in the Antigua brewery and may even partner with another brewing company that has shown an interest in reviving the old brewery.
The minister believes that Carib Beer can also construct a new brewery on appropriate lands
“Any entity like that would obviously need some commitment from the government not least of which will be access to land,” he explained.
The other issue Nicholas said would be one of fiscal incentives.
“When businesses are established, within the first five years they normally have an expanded risk footprint and clearly the incentives will be to mitigate against these risks,” he added.
The group is expected to bring a formal proposal to the Cabinet now that certain assurances were given by the Cabinet.