Parramatta. Coke to invest $45 million

Coca-Cola Amatil plans to invest $45 million next year installing two new production units, at its Northmead plant, in the first stage of manufacturing lightweight plastic bottles in its eastern states plants and avoiding the cost of trucking in and storing 200 million bottles annually. This is a blow to Visy Industries, which acquired CC Amatil’s PET bottle manufacturing operations, in 2002, for $157 million, and is CC Amatil’s sole supplier of PET bottles in Australia, according to The Australian Financial Review.

St Marys. Estate should be top priority

The Dunheved industrial area, in St Marys, should be one of the highest priority areas for potential jobs growth, Opposition planning spokesman, Brad Hazzard, said after touring the business park at the request of the Penrith Valley Chamber of Commerce. He criticised the Department of Planning for not spending money on moving the industrial area forward. A spokesman for the Minister for Planning, Khristine Keneally said there was "every chance'' she might visit the site depending on certain factors. A council spokesman said it had applied twice, unsuccessfully, for funding for a master plan for the revitalisation of the business park. Chamber president, Peter McGhee, said the chamber wanted to lift the area's profile. “It's about creating more jobs. All we're asking for is an overall master plan,'' he said in the Penrith Star