OREANDA-NEWS. May 15, 2012. JSC RusHydro (ticker symbol: MICEX-RTS, LSE: HYDR; OTCQX: RSHYY) announces beginning of a joint construction with Alstom of a hydropower equipment manufacturing facility in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Igor Sechin, President of the Republic of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov, RusHydro's CEO Evgeny Dod and Chairman of Alstom's Renewable Power Sector Jerome Pecresse.

Earlier, RusHydro and Alstom set up a 51/49 joint venture (JV), JSC AlstomRusHydroEnergy. Under the terms of the agreement, Alstom will contribute to the JV advanced operational management practices and technical know-how, and guarantees post-commissioning support.

Total investment in the plant will amount to EUR 125 mn. The first tranche of EUR 11 mn will be used for construction works, purchase of equipment, recruitment and training of personnel.

The start of production is scheduled for 2014. The plant will manufacture main power generation equipment for small (up to 25 MW), mid-sized hydropower plants (up to 100 MW) and pump storage plants (up to 150 MW), as well as auxiliary equipment.

The plant will be a cornerstone of a multifunctional technical park in Bashkortostan with the aim of creating a research and manufacturing cluster and development of SMEs in the republic. One of the major goals of the project is localization of manufacturing of power equipment and establishment of reliable and competitive vendors in Russia.