The drinks giant also announced a major new phase of expansion for its Scotch whisky production in the Speyside area.

A full planning application will now be submitted to Highland Council for the new distillery which will be adjacent to the company’s existing Teaninich distillery but will have its own name and identity.

It will have the capacity to produce around 13 million litres of spirit per year from 16 copper stills and Diageo hopes to start construction in 2014.

An on-site bio-energy plant will also be constructed to convert co-products into green energy to power the distillery.

Diageo also plans to invest £12m in expanding the existing Teaninich distillery to almost double its capacity.

Another £30m has been earmarked for new production facilities in Speyside, including construction of a new  stillhouse at the Mortlach distillery at Dufftown.

A new plant will also be built at Glendullan to process co-products in an anaerobic digestion process, producing bio-gas which will be used to power the Glendullan distillery.

Brian Higgs, Diageo Malt Distilling Director, said: “We are delighted to announce the next phase of investment in expanding our Scotch whisky production capacity in Scotland.

“All three sites we considered for the new malt distillery were excellent potential locations but after detailed investigations Teaninich came out just ahead in terms of the many complex logistics required when planning such a development.

“It is a significant investment for the local economy around Alness and we look forward to working positively with Highland Council and the local community as we progress our plans.”