Keda Peru’s first Cañete production line is already making up to 500 tonnes of glass a day, and a second line could bring total investment in the plant to about US$300 million. The expansion has no confirmed start date, permit or financing plan; the company says its timing depends on output and market prices.
Investment and ownership
Keda Peru spent about US$150 million on the first plant. General manager Michael Xu told the Lima business daily Gestión that a second line would cost “practically the same,” adding about US$150 million to the project total. The phase would add a melting furnace and production line, with work expected to start between 2027 and 2028.
Keda Peru operates under the Twyford brand and belongs to Twyford International. Gestión identifies Chinese machinery and building-materials group Keda Industrial Group as Twyford’s controlling shareholder. Twyford runs 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 names Corporación Limatambo, Corporación Corrales and HPD Glass Group as strategic partners.
Xu said competitive prices for water, electricity and natural gas led the company to choose Peru’s central coast. Asked why the location mattered, he said: “The most important thing is energy.”
Jobs, output and markets
Construction created about 1,000 jobs, mostly for local workers, according to state newspaper El Peruano. Estimates for permanent employment differ: Gestión reported 400 direct posts, while the government cited 850 over five years. Xu told Gestión the first production line was making 450 to 500 tonnes a day and should reach 600 tonnes within two to three months. El Peruano reported the plant’s capacity at 600 tonnes a day.
About 70% of output is intended for Peru and 30% for nearby markets, Gestión reported. The company said exports to Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and possibly the United States could begin at the end of October. Initial shipments would total about 10 containers each, and the company expects those volumes to rise as output grows. Keda estimates that replacing imports would save Peru more than US$70 million a year in foreign currency. It hasn't said how much glass might reach the United States or how its price would compare with Chinese imports.
President Keiko Fujimori opened the factory in San Vicente de Cañete on 7 October, and Production Minister Juan Carlos Requejo attended. “Not only will we stop importing glass, with this plant we are going to export to the rest of the region,” Fujimori said, according to the National Society of Industries, Peru’s main manufacturers’ association.
Public support and unanswered terms
Peru has had a free-trade agreement with the United States since 2009. The United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement took effect on 1 February 2009, allowing goods made in Peru to enter the United States under its terms. Keda hasn't said what U.S. duties, if any, it expects its glass to face.
The factory sits south of Lima, separate from the Chinese-run port of Chancay, about 70 kilometres north of the capital. Keda hasn't said which port it will use for exports. Reports 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.
A 2024 Production Ministry resolution set 15 May 2025 as the project’s investment deadline, Gestión reported. The plant opened in October 2026. The source reports no union, strike or worker-organizing activity connected to the project.