New Delhi, Sept. 26 -- Three Coca-Cola bottlers in India have committed to invest Rs 25,760 crore (USD 2.96 billion) to strengthen the country's food processing infrastructure.

The investment will be made through greenfield and brownfield projects across nine states.

The three companies involved are SLMG Beverages, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (the wholly-owned bottling arm of Coca-Cola), and the Kandhari Group of Companies. They have signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries to take the plan forward.

According to Paritosh Ladhani, joint managing director of SLMG Beverages, the total investment will be spread across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punj...