Yemen plans to return a Canada Dry bottling plant in Aden, the southern port city's only soft drinks producer, to its original owners after nationalising it almost 30 years ago, a government official has said.

The Industry Ministry official said a technical committee was listing assets ahead of the transfer of the plant, which South Yemen's Marxist government took over in 1972 before the Arab state's 1990 unification.

The Yemeni official said the factory was expected to be handed over to its previous Yemeni owners in mid-May. He said the government was looking for ways to retain the factory's 450 local employees.

Coca-Cola owns the Canada Dry brand in Yemen. The soft drinks giant operates several other bottling plants.

The government official did not provide any figures for the plant's assets or annual production but said the decision to return the plant was taken by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.