Coca-Cola pledges to invest $500 million in Egypt over the next three years in the form of capital expenditures and other commercial and community programmes.

The company’s CEO Ahmet Bozer announced investment plans in a meeting with the newly appointed Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Minister of Investment Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour on Tuesday.

As part of its investment, Coca-Cola plans to refurbish 100 rural villages by 2020 under the Egypt livelihood community programme.

Coca-Cola Egypt, which exports to over 40 countries, has been working in the country for 70 years and currently employs 12,000 Egyptians.

The company recorded more than $8.6 billion in consolidated net profits in 2013, a five percent drop from the previous year.

Last month, the closure of four Coca Cola bottling plants in Spain spurred strikes by hundreds of workers fearing job loss.