Asahi Breweries, Ltd. will close its aging brewery in Tokyo's Ota Ward and transfer production to a new plant in Minami-Ashigara, Kanagawa Prefecture, President Shigeo Fukuchi told a Tokyo press conference Wednesday.

The relocation is included in the firm's five-year business plan to be implemented in 2000.

It would be difficult to expand the Tokyo brewery, built in 1962, because of its proximity to a congested downtown area. The new factory in Kanagawa is slated to begin operation in 2002, and the company plans to complete production transfer around the summer of that year. Most of the Tokyo plant's workers will be moved to the Kanagawa factory.

Under the business plan, however, the brewery, driven by its key product, Asahi Super Dry, will cut its overall workforce by 200, or 5 percent, to boost production efficiency.

To speed up the decision-making process in terms of management policy, the current 40-member corporate board of directors will also be reduced to about 10 executives after the move is approved at the annual shareholders' meeting slated for March 2000.

The brewery also plans to integrate its 93 group firms into half or one-third of their current number, Fukuchi said.

Under the midterm plan, the brewer plans to increase sales from 1.08 trillion yen this year to 1.27 trillion yen in 2004.