GE offers for setting up a loco JV with Indian Railways
It is reported that international loco manufacturer GE has offered to set up a diesel locomotive manufacturing unit in collaboration with the Indian Railways. In the proposed JV, GE will hold majority stake while the railways will take a minority stake. The plant will be capable of rolling out 100 to 120 locomotives a year and the investment will be in the range between USD 100 million and USD 200 million.
Mr Pratyush Kumar CEO of GE Infrastructure said that "We would desire a JV with the Railway owned SPV to manufacture 6,000 horsepower locomotives."
Price water house Coopers, which is advising the Railways on the strategy for enhancing its rolling stock capacity, has suggested that the proposed locomotive, coach and wheel manufacturing plants will have majority private participation with 74% PwC has also been entrusted with the job of working out the documents including qualification criteria, request for proposal, bidding and selection processes.
Currently, Indian Railways manufactures 4,000 horsepower diesel locomotives at DLW Varanasi and 6000 horsepower at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. Indian Railways has recently announced plans to set up 4 new factories to meet rolling stock requirements including two for manufacturing locomotives, one for 150 diesel locos and another for 120 electric locos per year and the others are a unit for 1,100 passenger coaches and another to manufacture 1,00,000 wheel discs per year.
Global players like Alstom, Bombardier of Canada, GE, Siemens and Russia based. Trans mash holding have evinced interest to set up units in India, have called for duty concessions and assured long term demand from the Railways.
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