Alstom bags mega Indian railways deal

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French engineering firm Alstom has won a contract worth $3 billion to modernise India’s vast colonial-era train network, the government revealed on Tuesday, a day after another mega agreement was announced. Alstom will supply 800 electric locomotives and build a factory in the eastern state of Bihar as part of a contract expected to be signed in a month, a senior railways ministry official told AFP on Tuesday.

Late Monday, the Indian government said it had awarded a $2.6-billion contract to General Electric to develop and supply Indian Railways with 1,000 diesel locomotives over a period of 11 years. “GE will manufacture 1,000 diesel locomotives while Alstom has been picked for 800 electric locomotives meant mainly for heavy haulage,” he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the Alstom deal was worth 200 billion rupees ($3 billion). A statement on the Indian government website said the Alstom and GE deals signified “a giant leap forward in Make In India drive”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship manufacturing initiative. (AFP)

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