Alstom building 3.5 bln tenge electric locomotive assembly plant in southern KazakhstanConstruction of an electric locomotive assembly plant, jointly with the French company Alstom, is underway in the city of Arys in southern Kazakhstan, the press service of the Akim of the Turkestan region reported.The plant, located on 2.9 hectares, will be able to assemble approximately 2,000 electric locomotives per year. A railway maintenance service will also be developed there.The total cost of the project is 3.5 billion tenge. More than 100 permanent jobs are planned to be created.The city's Akim, Kaisar Mankarayev visited the site and assured that the state will provide all necessary support for the project.In April of this year, it was reported that Kazakhstan was considering purchasing 205 electric locomotives, which will be built at electric locomotive plant, a joint venture with the French company Alstom, between 2029 and 2036.In November 2024, during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's visit to France, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the Kazakh railway operator, and the French engineering concern Alstom Transport SA signed an agreement to produce a new type of electric freight locomotive with asynchronous traction motors, the KZ6A, in Kazakhstan.It was noted that this model will replace the aging VL-80 locomotives built in 1980. The new type of electric locomotive is 40% cheaper, more efficient, and reduces energy consumption by 20%.Alstom has committed to investing €50 million in the construction of four electric locomotive maintenance centers in Kazakhstan.Alstom currently employs over 1,000 people and operates seven production sites in Kazakhstan, including two factories: the Electric Locomotive Assembly Plant in Astana, which manufactures and maintains electric locomotives, and the KazElectroPrivod joint venture in Almaty, which produces point machines. Alstom's factories are the only manufacturers of electric locomotives and point machines in Central Asia and the Caucasus. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX