OREANDA-NEWS. December 2, 2011. JSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: RTS, MICEX, LSE: HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Administration of the city of Saratov. Mikhail Mantrov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of RusHydro, and Alexey Prokopenko, Head of Administration of Saratov, signed the document.

The agreement aims to arrange cooperation in the field of hydro-power engineering and machine building, as well as to develop state of the art production facility in Saratov.

Voith Hydro will be the third participant of the project. Mikhail Mantrov noted that RusHydro and Voith Hydro plan to perform an overall modernization of vertical Kaplan hydropower turbines of the Saratovskaya HPP within 10 years, and together with the Administration of Saratov create a joint venture in the city to produce equipment for hydropower plants with investment of up to EUR 40 mln and sales of EUR 500 mln annually.

The Administration of Saratov will provide a site for JV's factory and pledged the necessary support the venture.

In September 2010, RusHydro and Voith Hydro signed a memorandum of cooperation, aimed at collaborating on reconstruction, modernization and the technical re-equipment of existing hydro-power plants. One item will be the cooperative development of technical and commercial terms for a long-term agreement on supplying equipment for hydro-power plants. Within the framework of cooperation, the focus will be on environmentally sound and fish-friendly technologies.

Voith Hydro GmbH & Co.KG Company is a supplier of eco-friendly hydropower equipment and a world leader in designing and constructing hydropower plants. The Company offers integrated solutions for the turn-key installation of hydro-mechanical, turbine and generator equipment, auxiliary mechanical and electric systems, control systems, modernization and re-equipment services and providing the in-house manufacture of the main types of HPP equipment. Voith Hydro Company designs hydro-power turbines that completely eliminate machine oil ingress to water. At present, RusHydro and Voith Hydro are implementing joint projects at the Zaramagskaya HPP, the Uglichskaya HPP and other HPPs.