French energy firm to invest in Turkey
Posted by meb at May 24th, 2008
Areva T&D Division, one of three global players in the transmission and distribution of energy, decided to invest $105 million in Turkey.
Paris-based Areva will allocate $50 million for the first stage of the investment, and open one of the world’s biggest distribution transformer production facilities in Turkey.
The decision indicates the beginning of a new period for the company, which has been active in Turkey for 40 years, Areva said Wednesday in a joint statement with the Turkish Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency. The company is expected to provide employment for 300 people at the initial phase.
The total investment, however, is expected to provide job opportunities for 600 people, the Anatolia news agency reported, citing the statement. The company is currently offering services at its factory located in Gebze, an industrial area of the northwestern city of Kocaeli, daily Hürriyet said Friday.
The new facility plays a key role in Areva’s regional competitiveness and leadership, said Ghislain Lescuyer, executive vice president of Areva T&D’s products business unit. “Our new factory has special importance for our company. It will meet Turkey’s electrical equipment demand as well as fostering our target of regional technology leadership.”
Key role
The investment decision is ideal in terms of employment, added value and exports, said Alpaslan Korkmaz, head of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency, which had a key role in the project. “Considering foreign direct investment movements in the world, it is obvious that the expansion projects of international investors are crucial. The expansion project of Areva is a model,” he said.
The project became possible with the strong coordination of the Industry Ministry, the Kocaeli Governor’s Office, the Kocaeli Chamber of Commerce and the Kocaeli-based industrial zone of the Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers, or TAYSED, Korkmaz said. “Our agency had a significant role in the implementation of the project in Turkey, rather than in Eastern European countries.”
Areva’s export capacity, which exceeds 80 percent at present, boosts the importance of the project. With 68 industrial sites and a presence in more than 100 countries, the company provides solutions to over 30,000 customers in 160 countries around the world.
source: Turkish Daily News
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