MILLIONS of cups of coffee drunk in Costa coffee shops across the world each year, will be made from beans roasted in Basildon as part of a £36million investment.

The chain, which operates more than 3,000 cafes in 30 countries, will open a new roasting plant in Basildon in early 2017.

Costa managing director Christopher Rogers was present yesterday at a ground-breaking ceremony for the site, which could produce most of the 464 million cups of coffee sold in Costas each year.

The company’s existing roasting plant in Lambeth, south London, can produce 10,000 tonnes of ground coffee per year.

But the new Basildon site, in Christopher Martin Road, will have the capacity to make up to 45,000 tonnes.

Mr Rogers said: “This is an important milestone in a truly exciting project for both Costa and Basildon.

“We are taking great pride in our new roastery, ensuring we deliver the very best facility in the world to meet customer demand in the long-term and support our growth.

“Our new roastery is a vote of confidence in Basildon and we are proud that the town will be a vital hub of our global business.

“We are very much looking forward to making a positive contribution to the local economy and local community.”

Costa had sought another site in south east England close to Tilbury Docks, where Costa imports raw coffee beans from around the world.

Mr Rogers added: “For us it is an economic move.

“We have been roasting coffee in Lambeth for the last 40 years and we are growing extraordinarily quickly.

“The transport links here are fantastic and Basildon has been very welcoming and we are looking at creating employment in the area.”

The new plant will be named Paradise Street, in recognition of the company’s original Lambeth roastery in Old Paradise Street.

Costa will invest £36million building the plant on the site of the former Visteon motor part factory, which closed in 2009 and was subsequently demolished.

Basildon Council leader Phil Turner said: “We are delighted Costa has shown confidence in our area with this investment in their state-of-the-art facility."