DRINKS giant Diageo is to create dozens of jobs at its Glasgow bottling plant as part of a £100million expansion.

A new bottling line will be introduced at the Shieldhall site in Govan with production being stepped up from 200 to 300 bottles per minute.

The investment will deliver 200 jobs across Scotland as a whole with the Glasgow plant getting £10m of investment.

The Shieldhall site has 700 staff to handle the Johnnie Walker, Bell's and J&B brands.

A Diageo spokesman said today: "It's an exciting time for staff.

"There's there is no doubt there will be an increase in jobs at Shieldhall."

Diageo will also build a malt distillery in northern Scotland as part of its expansion plans, driven by growing demand for its brands overseas.

More cash will also be ploughed into warehouses across central Scotland.

Bryan Donaghey, managing director of Diageo Scotland, said: "This investment underpins our commitment to Scotland and the long-term growth and sustainability of our Scotch whisky business."

The expansion has been unveiled at a time of sustained growth in the worldwide whisky business.

Diageo today revealed its sales rose 6% to £4.02billion for the second half of 2006, driven by an 8% net growth in spirit sales.

The firm will spend £40m on expanding its grain distillery in Cameronbridge, Fife and invest another £40m on a new distillery - likely to be on Speyside - dedicated to single malts.

Diageo's managing director of global supply, David Gosnell, said: "This investment is good news for both the Scotch whisky industry and the Scottish economy."