Within days of acquiring vitamin water Glaceau, American giant Coca Cola said on Monday it will invest $250 million  in India in next three years and said its bottling operations would turn profitable in 2008.

"In bottling operations, the business will move into profitability next year. In one of the months in 2007, we broke even but on the full year basis we are expecting to be in profits in 2008," Irial Finan, head of Coke's Bottling Operations world wide, told PTI in an exclusive interview.

He said most of the investment will stay within India as the required infrastructure like coolers and trucks are manufactured in India.

Along with the $250 million by Coke, franchises of the company's bottling operations in India are also likely to put in between $50-100 million to ramp up infrastructure.

"This is a long term policy of the company. There are, however, no immediate plans or any set time frame to do so," Finan said, adding at least for next 12 months there wouldn't be any divestment in the bottling operations.

On the pricing policy of Rs five a bottle of 200 ml of coke, which the company initiated about four years back and withdrawn in no time, Finan candidly admitted that it was a 'mistake.'

Asked to elaborate on whether the policy was wrong or the execution, Finan said, "There was nothing wrong with the policy but certainly it has to do with the execution." 

After Coke initiated Rs 5 a bottle, most of its demand went into this category causing imbalances.

"This was a mistake and it has been corrected. May be the integration of operations of concentrate and bottling was the reason. These two have been separated and they are running successfully as anywhere else in the world," he added.

He, however, said the company was open to a dual pricing policy in India with separate price range for rural consumers and another for the urban areas.