Bharat Forge plans joint venture with Alstom group

07 November 2008

Kalyani Group flagship Bharat Forge Limited (BFL) proposes to enter into an alliance with a Europe-based company of the Alstom Group for the manufacture of critical components for thermal power plants.

The companies will sign a deal on 10 November and details of the joint venture agreement will be announced after the event.

The joint venture, estimated to coast 0ver Rs1,000 crore, will invest in a manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 5,000 MW, Bharat Forge said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The proposed joint venture project, which will produce high-value, super-critical turbine/generator sets for thermal and nuclear power plants, will be subject to receipt of applicable government and regulatory approvals, BFL said in a statement.

Initially, the European arm of Alstom would produce equipment for thermal plants and provide nuclear power generation equipment later when the sector opens up in the country, the BSE filing said.

This is part of the company's planned entry into the capital goods sector, said Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of BFL.