PURCHASE, NY. — PepsiCo Inc. has partnered with Jiangsu Rilong Food Co. Ltd. to build a Quaker oat production facility in Huai’an City, China.

Under the nearly 500 million yuan ($68.6 million) project, PepsiCo and Jiangsu Rilong Food have begun constructing an approximately 100,000-square-meter (1.08 million-square-foot) plant in Lianshui County, located in Jiangsu Province north of Shanghai. The facility is expected to become operational in 2025.

A spokesperson for PepsiCo said the Huai’an City plant will have an estimated annual manufacturing capacity of up to 160,000 tonnes and produce about 10 types of oat cereal in various packaging formats.

“As the latest investment by PepsiCo in China, PepsiCo has reached a strategic cooperation with Jiangsu Rilong,” the spokesperson said. “The two sides will jointly invest in the construction of this food factory. Under the new cooperation model, PepsiCo is expected to leverage Jiangsu Rilong’s production experience and technology to enhance the quality and production efficiency of Quaker oat products, quickly respond to consumers’ diversified demands for cereal nutrition foods and further strengthen its market competitiveness.”

She described Jiangsu Rilong Food as a “long-term partner of PepsiCo in China,” adding, “Rilong has over 20 years of experience in oatmeal processing and production. The shared pursuit of quality by both parties has led to a deeper and longer-term strategic cooperation.”

Purchase-based PepsiCo has invested in 11 food plants and 60 beverage plants in China, including via the PepsiCo-Kangshifu (Tingyi Holding Corp.) beverage alliance formed over a decade ago, the spokesperson said. During the last six years, PepsiCo steadily has raised its investment in China to a pace of opening or expanding one food plant each year, she said.