United Breweries is planning to set up three greenfield breweries in the country, including a large unit in Rajasthan, a top official of the company said on Friday.

"We have got a license for setting up a brewery in Rajasthan and are close to getting one in Orissa. We also plan to have a brewery in Uttar Pradesh," Kalyan Ganguly, president, breweries, UB Group, told reporters in Bangalore.

He said projects would come up in a span of about 24 months, but the size of the breweries would depend on the progress on the valued added tax regime.

"We would start small in a modular way and have scope for expansion," Ganguly said.

He said UB had registered a growth of 9 per cent in the first five months (April to August 2003) of the current financial year, as against a 5 per cent dip in the industry.

The dip in the industry average, Ganguly said, was due to the phenomenal growth in the last three years which had to undergo some sort of "correction".

Meanwhile, Ganguly announced the launch of Kingfisher 5L Keg, a compact 5-litre beer container, targeted at home consumers.