Tunisia to boost partnership with Alstom
Tunis, January 6, 2009- Plans to expand the partnership between Tunisia and the French equipment company Alstom were discussed during a meeting in Tunis on Tuesday between the Minister of transport, Mr Abderrahim Zouari and Alstom’s CEO, Mr Philippe Mellier.
The French company which won the bid for the electrification of the El Mourouj metro line in Tunis as well as that of the railway line between Tunis and its southern suburbs, is also the main equipment provider of railcars to the “Transtu” company.
In a statement following the meeting, Mr Mellier said the Tunisian market has reached such a level that one can envisage a closer cooperation with Tunisia notably in terms of subcontracting and maintenance.
On his part, the Tunisian Minister of transport said that the development of a win-win partnership with various international partners is one of the country’s priorities.
Investments in Tunisia’s railway system have witnessed a fourfold increase to reach 1782 million dinars in 2008 compared to 410 million dinars in 2006.
Alstom is present in more than 70 countries and employs 76,000 people. It recently unveiled its latest AVG (Automotrice Grande Vitesse) train that can travel up to 360 km/h.
