Areva’s T&D division has just opened eight new factories on three sites in India at an investment cost of €150 million. The first site, at Vadodara, in Gujarat State will be of 350,000 sq m, the second, at Hosur, will be 90,000 sq m, and and the third, at Padappai, in the State of Tamil Naiduwill be 21,400 sq m. Areva’s investment decision was driven primarily by the Indian market’s growing demand for more electrical equipment and services.
With the expected demand for electricity, under the government’s 11th and 12th five year plans an additional 161 GW of new power generation will be added by 2020 and significant investments made in the electrical grid. With its new factories, AREVA will supply substations and equipment at the highest voltage levels to support the country’s growing demand. Most of it is expected to be in advanced technology – EHV and UHV equipment.
“We also expect to create more than 1,500 direct jobs as well as several thousand indirect jobs over the next four years,” said Philippe Guillemot, Chairman and CEO of AREVA’s T&D division.
