f the distillery gets planning permission, it will cost about £50m to build and will be able to produce around 13m litres of spirt each year from 16 copper stills.Situated beside the company's existing distillery in Teaninich near Alness in Speyside, the planned site would create up to 20 new jobs.
Plans for the Speyside site are part of a multi-million investment programme launched by Diageo last year.
In June 2012, Diageo unveiled plans to pour more than £1bn into boosting Scotch whisky production as it sought to take advantage of a "renaissance" in the centuries-old industry.
Young, wealthy professionals in Asia, Latin America and Africa are driving demand for the drink and Diageo is looking to meet a thirst for brands such as Johnie Walker and J&B.
Johnnie Walker is Diageo’s best-selling brand by far, shipping around 18m cases last year and accounting for just under half of the company’s total Scotch whisky sales.
As well as building a new distillery, Diageo is also planning to invest £12m in the existing Teaninich distillery to almost double its capacity and to invest around £30m in new production facilities in Speyside.
Brian Higgs, director of malt distilling at Diageo, said: “We are delighted to announce the next phase of investment in expanding our Scotch whisky production capacity in Scotland.
“All three sites we considered for the new malt distillery were excellent potential locations but after detailed investigations Teaninich came out just ahead in terms of the many complex logistics required when planning such a development.
“It is a significant investment for the local economy around Alness and we look forward to working positively with Highland Council and the local community as we progress our plans.”
