Alstom has completed a deal to double its stake in its Kazakhstan joint venture, EKZ.
Alstom now has a 50 per cent shareholding in the company, which was set up to manufacturer electric locomotives for Kazakhstan. Alstom will also be given an extra seat in the EKZ board of directors.
National rail provider Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and Transmashholding (TMH) have both retained a 25 per cent share.
Alstom and EKZ have also signed an agreement to produce the locomotive’s on-board transformers at EKZ’s facility in Astana.
Martin Vaujour, Alstom CIS senior vice-president, said in a statement: “Through localisation of technology, production, creation of new working places and training for the local personnel, Alstom gets Kazakhstan’s machinery-building industry to a new level and opens it to the global market with 400 local jobs already created.
“The overall localisation reached 28 per cent and will be increased to 50 per cent in two coming years. I am sure that our cooperation will continue, to the benefit of all the stakeholders, thanks to the favourable investment climate set by Kazakhstan.”
