OREANDA-NEWS. December 23, 2009. “General Electric” plans to further increase its share in the locomotive factory in Astana,” President of "NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” JSC Askar Mamin said at the meeting of Prime Minister Karim Massimov with members of the Union of Engineering Workers of Kazakhstan.

“It is a good indicator that General Electric has bought 20 per cent of the capital of this plant. And they plan to further increase its share,” he said.

Previously, on December 7 this year, the memorandum was signed between the President of “NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” JSC Askar Mamin and President of “General Electric” Lorenzo Simonelli at the launch of the first locomotive of the “Evolution” series of Kazakhstan's production, whereby 20 per cent of the plant’s safety stocks are owned by “General Electric.”

Locomotive assembling plant is a major joint project of “NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” JSC and the “General Electric” American company.

The investment in the construction of the plant is about 10 billion tenge. It is planned to create 28 locomotives in 2010, eight of which are intended for export to the CIS and Baltic countries and Mongolia. By 2014, the power of plant will make 100 locomotives per year, thirty of which will be aimed at export.