Peru’s first float glass factory opened on Wednesday, and its Chinese owner is already discussing doubling the investment. Michael Xu, general manager of Keda Peru, told Lima business daily Gestión in an interview published Friday that investment in the Cañete project could reach about US$300 million if the company adds a second production line. The first plant cost about US$150 million. Xu said the second would cost “practically the same.”
That promise comes with conditions. Xu said the timing for a second line, which would add a melting furnace and production line and start between 2027 and 2028, depends on the first line’s performance and market prices. Gestión also cited glass import levels as a factor. Keda hasn’t announced a firm start date, permit or financing plan for the project.
Who Benefits, and How Many
The job figures don’t match. El Peruano, the state newspaper, reported that construction created about 1,000 jobs, mostly for local workers. Permanent employment is less clear. Gestión cited 400 direct posts, while the government cited 850 over five years. That’s a gap of more than double, and the reporting doesn’t explain it.
President Keiko Fujimori opened the factory in San Vicente de Cañete on 7 October, with Production Minister Juan Carlos Requejo attending, according to Andina, the state news agency. “Not only will we stop importing glass, with this plant we are going to export to the rest of the region,” Fujimori said, per the National Society of Industries, Peru’s main manufacturers’ association. The company estimates replacing imports would save Peru more than US$70 million a year in foreign currency.
Float glass is the flat, smooth glass used in windows, doors, shop fronts and car windscreens. El Peruano reported that the plant can produce 600 tonnes a day. Xu said it’s currently producing 450 to 500 tonnes and should reach 600 within two to three months. About 70% of output is intended for Peru, with 30% for nearby markets.
Energy, Trade and Open Questions
Asked why Keda chose Peru’s central coast, Xu answered directly. “The most important thing is energy,” he said, citing water, electricity and natural gas at competitive prices. Those are public resources and public infrastructure, yet the interview doesn’t say what terms Keda secured or how much the plant will use.
The company said exports to Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and possibly the United States could begin at the end of October, starting with about 10 containers each. Peru has had a free-trade agreement with the United States since 2009, and goods made in Peru can enter under the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, in force since 1 February 2009. But Keda hasn’t said what U.S. duties, if any, its glass would face. It also hasn’t said how much glass would reach the United States or how its price would compare with Chinese imports.
The setting matters. The factory sits south of Lima, apart from the Chinese-run port of Chancay, about 70 kilometres north of the capital. Chinese President Xi Jinping took part in the port’s opening on 14 November 2024. Cosco owns 60%, Peruvian miner Volcan holds 40%, and Forbes Perú reported that the port cost about US$1.3 billion. Days later, Mauricio Claver-Carone, then an adviser to Donald Trump’s transition team, floated a 60% tariff on any product passing through Chancay and extended the idea to any port in the region owned or controlled by China, Gestión reported. Keda hasn’t said which port it will use.
A Long Road to Opening
The project began about three years before Xu’s 9 October interview. Gestión reported that a 2024 Production Ministry resolution set 15 May 2025 as the investment deadline. The plant opened in October 2026. Accounts also differ on the first line’s cost: the presidency cited more than US$130 million, while El Peruano and Gestión put it at US$150 million.
Keda Peru operates under the Twyford brand and belongs to Twyford International. Gestión describes Chinese machinery and building-materials group Keda Industrial 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. A third phase would make higher-value goods such as mirrors and automotive glass, but no budget or date was reported.
Why This Matters:
A domestic glass industry could create hundreds of local jobs and reduce reliance on imports. Those outcomes are worth welcoming. But the public record remains thin where scrutiny matters most. Permanent job estimates differ by more than double between the company’s press coverage and the government’s. Nobody has published what Keda pays for the energy and water it called decisive, or what conditions come with them. Exports, tariffs and port choices remain undefined as geopolitics circles the project. Peruvians can reasonably ask for the figures behind the promises: how many lasting jobs, at what wages and on what terms, and what the public gets in return for the resources and incentives that made Cañete attractive. Transparent, enforceable commitments—not ribbon-cutting speeches—determine whether foreign investment shares its gains widely.