GE and Kazakhstan strike a $500M Deal

Most Americans could not locate Kazakhstan on a map, but that has not stopped the large Central Asian country from signing a $500 million deal with GE. In return for the money, General Electric will maintain locomotives for Kazakhstan’s federal railway and invest in locomotive-related infrastructure in the country.

According to GE, this deal with Kazakhstan marks the company’s largest such deal ever outside of North America. All in all, GE will provide maintenance for about 400 locomotives owned by a company called Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. The two companies will also join forces to invest in a Kazakhstan plant that will create about 600 jobs.

The plant will produce GE Evolution Series locomotives, in which GE will invest $400 million over the next eight years. Compared to other locomotives, the Evolution Series has a smaller engine and it uses less fuel, which makes it more attractive to proponents of more responsible energy usage.

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