Exploring Eurasia: Alstom Roots in Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan Today Magazine, March/April 2012)

Step by step, Alstom has been establishing close relationships in the energy and transport sectors in Azerbaijan. With the most comprehensive and balanced portfolio of generation, energy trans­mission and railway equipment and the rolling stock in the market, Alstom builds a strategy that can help modernise infrastructures in the country.

Company Overview:

Alstom, the parent company to Alstom Grid and Alstom Transport, is a global leader in the world of power genera­tion, power transmission and rail infra­structure and it sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friend­ly technologies. Alstom builds the fas­test train and the highest capacity auto­mated metro in the world, provides turnkey integrated power plant solu­tions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including thermal and renewable ones, and it of­fers a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids.

Key figures:
100 countries
92,000 employees
€ 20.9 billion sales in 2010/11

Alstom Grid in Azerbaijan: Five Years of Trust

This year Alstom will celebrate its 5th anniversary in Azerbaijan - the compa­ny established the office in Baku in 2007. But the story started in 2000, when Alstom Thermal Power had supplied two GT8C2 gas turbine generator sets to Baku I thermal power plant. The company also supplied a 400Mw gen­erator for Shimal-1 power plant in 2002. Up to now Alstom has been providing necessary spare parts and services to those units.

During these years Alstom Grid has become a key partner to Azerenerji, the country's biggest power producer and the leading grid operator, in the imple­mentation of large state projects. With the support of the President of Azerbaijan, starting from 2002 Azerenerji has done a huge work rehabilitating the power stations, building new genera­tion capacities, new transmission lines and substations. In these years Azerbai­jan turned from importer of power energy into exporter. Alstom Grid co­uld not stay aside of such an impressive and rapid development.

In 2007 Alstom Grid was awarded the implementation of SCAD A, EMS, Tele­com, Metering Project financed by the World Bank. Having formed a strong local team working on the project issues with Azerenerji and local contractors on a daily basis, Alstom Grid has overcame the main technical chal­lenges of the project, obtained the unique experience of project software adaptation to the market and special technical requirements. What's most important, the company's expertise and approach helped winning other projects from Azerenerji. The Control System was commissioned at the end of 2011, and is up and running. Alstom Grid is proud that it demonstrated sustainable operations through its first live test during cold and abnormal win con­ditions of 2012, supporting the dispatchers of Azerenerji in their hard work in extreme weather conditions when the power system was working at the peak loads.

In 2008, Alstom Grid was awarded the Rehabilitation of Janub Substations Project - a major Azerbaijani power station with the total capacity of 780 MW. For this project Azerenerji has selected Alstom's Gas Insulated Switchgears for all voltage levels of 110, 220 & 330 kV. Alstom's most advanced control sys­tem technologies were incorporated into the power plant control system, which is connected to the main SCADA control system of Azerenerji.

In 2009 Alstom Grid won Rehabi­litation of Mingechaur Power Station Project. This is a large and complex project with a lot of interfaces with other contractors. Mingechaur Power Station is the key Hydro Power Station in Azerbaijan with the total capacity of 420 MW.In 2010 Alstom Grid was awarded Mingechaur - Absheron 220 kV Transmission Project with the con­struction of 220 kV Agdash substation. The project scope includes the modern­ization of the system operating 500 kV Absheron and 220 kV Khurdalan sub­stations. The project will be commis­sioned at the end of 2012.

During the years of cooperation Alstom Grid has managed to build the partner­ship based on mutual trust with Azerenerji and other Clients. The company appreciates its achievement of market share and market knowledge, which became possible thanks to the policy of the Head of the State, President of Azerbaijan Hkham Aliyev, creating wi­de and transparent opportunities for the international companies in Azer­baijan.

Alstom Transport: Shaping the Future

The geography of Azerbaijan creates a unique opportunity for developing North-South and East-West transport directions. Located at the crossing of strategic transport corridors, the coun­try has every chance to become a major transport nod, given modernization and development of the current infra­structure.

Being a world leader in equipment and services for rail transport, Alstom is able to provide Azerbaijan with the lat­est solutions for railways, metro and trams. Alstom Transport offers the broadest product range in the world, from rolling stock to signaling, electrifi­cation, maintenance and integrated transport systems.

Alstom Transport participates in the tenders related to the modernization of the key railway link of the country from Baku to Beyuk Kesik at the border with Georgia. For this particular project Alstom is proposing the latest genera­tion of freight and passenger locomo­tives, manufactured in Novocherkassk and Astana in partnership with the largest Russian rolling stock manufac­turer TMH. Also, in cooperation with the Russian company Promelectronika, one of the leaders of the signaling mar­ket of Russia and CIS, Alstom offers advanced microprocessor technologies for the signaling infrastructure of Baku -Beyuk Kesik line ensuring highest standards of safety and train speed of 140 km/h and higher. Finally, Alstom is participating in the tender of the reha­bilitation of the electrification of this line providing globally recognized competence of 25KV AC electrification for the mainline and high speed lines.

Alstom is also a global leader in urban rail transport. Alstom's metro systems are used in many major capitals, including Paris, London, New York, Washington, Caracas, Singapore, and Shanghai. For the metro of Baku city Alstom is ready to propose - in partner­ship with TMH - the modern metro cars, and the most advanced metro automation technology CBTC for a driverless operation of the new metro lines.

Alstom can also potentially provide Azerbaijan with Light Rail Transport (LRT), giving people of the country comfortable, safe and modern city transport. Over 1,500 Alstom state-of-the-art tramways are in operation in 40 cities of the world and have already transported over 4 billion passengers. Alstom's leadership in tramway solu­tions can be used in the future projects of the light rail transport in Azerbaijan, such as linking Baku and Sumgait, pro­viding modern tram solution for a "White City" project, other key cities of the country. Apart from the products, Alstom is able to provide full range of services, including modernization of the depots, training for the personnel, full support and maintenance of pro­vided products and systems.

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