The Coca-Cola Co has broken ground on its 45th production plant in China as part of a US$4bn investment in the country.

The US$56m plant, in Hebei Province, will have a capacity of 250m unit cases for still and sparkling beverages, the company said on Friday. It follows the start of construction this month on another plant, in Hunan Province's Changsha.

Both facilities are are part of Coca-Cola's current $4bn investment plan that began earlier this year.

“China is our third-largest market by volume and is critically important to the future growth of our business,” said Coca-Cola's CEO, Muhtar Kent, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony in Hebei. “We are committed to investing here and growing here for the long term.”

From 1979 to 2014, Coca-Cola has invested $9bn in China, it said.

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