Friday, May 04, 2012 -
A Polish rolling stock manufacturer will build a tram assembly plant in the northeastern Kazakh city of Pavlodar, an industry news agency reported on Friday.
Polish firm Pesa signed the memorandum of understanding with Pavlodar officials who were visiting Pavlodar’s Polish twin city last month, the Railway Gazette international reported.
The tram system in the Kazakh city aims to add 100 trams to its transportation system. The first two low-floor trams will be made in Poland, after which the next 83 will be built starting in 2014 at the new plant.
“Opening an assembly line in Pavlodar is economically justified,” Pesa Chairman Tomasz Zaboklicki told the Railway Gazette International.
“Shipping our products to Kazakhstan has proven to be uneconomic. A new assembly line will allow us to extend our offer to other regions.”
Pavlodar officials, while on their visit to Bydgoszcz, also signed a deal with the Polish firm Tines to modernize tram infrastructure.
Both deals will be financed by Polish bank BGK.
Pavlodar’s tram network is 53 miles long, but needs infrastructure and tram improvements to keep it functioning.