Keda Peru says it could invest about US$300 million in its Cañete glass project, but the next US$150 million hinges on the first production line’s performance and market prices. The company has opened its first plant. Accounts of the investment quote no workers or nearby residents. The company will decide whether to expand.
Workers at the Center of the Numbers
Construction created about 1,000 jobs, mostly for local people, according to the state newspaper El Peruano. Estimates of permanent jobs vary: Gestión cited 400 direct posts, while the government put the figure at 850 over five years. They’re different estimates, not a confirmed count of lasting work.
Keda Peru opened Peru’s first float glass factory on Wednesday 7 October. El Peruano and Gestión put the first plant’s cost at about US$150 million, though the presidency cited more than US$130 million. The factory stands in San Vicente de Cañete, south of Lima. President Keiko Fujimori opened it, and Production Minister Juan Carlos Requejo attended.
El Peruano reported capacity of 600 tonnes a day. Michael Xu, Keda Peru’s general manager, told Gestión that the plant was producing 450 to 500 tonnes daily and should reach 600 tonnes within two to three months. The reporting includes no testimony from workers or organized community response near the factory. The jobs are counted. The people doing them aren’t heard.
A Second Line, If the Market Says So
The proposed second phase would add a melting furnace and production line, with work expected to start between 2027 and 2028. Xu said the timing depends on how the first line performs and on market prices; Gestión also cited glass import levels. Keda hasn’t announced a firm start date, permit or financing plan for the second line.
A third phase could produce higher-value goods, including mirrors and automotive glass. No budget or date has been reported. Asked why the company chose Peru’s central coast, Xu said: “The most important thing is energy.” He pointed to water, electricity and natural gas at a competitive price.
Keda Peru operates under the Twyford brand and belongs to Twyford International. Gestión describes Keda Industrial Group, a Chinese machinery and building-materials group, as Twyford’s controlling shareholder. Twyford operates 31 production lines in nine countries, employs more than 15,000 people and already makes glass in Tanzania. Cañete is its first industrial project in South America. Keda Peru lists Corporación Limatambo, Corporación Corrales and HPD Glass Group as strategic partners.
Exports, Imports and State Promotion
Gestión reported that about 70% of output is intended for Peru and 30% for nearby markets. The company said exports to Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and possibly the United States could begin at the end of October. Initial shipments would be about 10 containers each, with volumes potentially rising as production grows. Keda hasn’t said which port it will use or how its glass price would compare with Chinese imports.
Fujimori cast the plant as a national win: “Not only will we stop importing glass, with this plant we are going to export to the rest of the region,” she said, according to the National Society of Industries, Peru’s main manufacturers’ association. Keda estimates that replacing imports would save Peru more than US$70 million a year in foreign currency. The factory could also use the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, in force since 1 February 2009, though Keda hasn’t said what U.S. duties, if any, its glass could face.
The project began about three years before Xu’s 9 October 2026 interview. Gestión reported that a 2024 Production Ministry resolution set 15 May 2025 as the investment deadline; the plant opened in October 2026. The accounts report no election or legislative proposal and no organized response from workers or residents. They record a state-backed opening, a corporate expansion plan still tied to market calculations, and sharply different estimates of the permanent jobs left behind.