AREVA and Shanghai Electric (SEC), one of the largest mechanical and electrical equipment manufacturers in China, have signed a new partnership agreement complementing the existing joint-venture between the two companies, which already comprises a 50/50 owned power transformer factory located in Shanghai.

Through this new partnership, both parties have agreed to build two new transformer manufacturing sites to be located in Wuhan (Hubei Province, Eastern China) and Lingang (Shanghai area) that will begin production in 2009.

These entities will enable AREVA and SEC to triple their power transformer production capacity in China, thereby strengthening their positioning on the booming Chinese high and ultra high-voltage market. These factories will also become the benchmark in terms of technology and environmentally- friendly standards.

Lastly, to reach its objective to be a major player in China, AREVA will build a new R&D center in Shanghai that will open at the end of 2009. This center will employ more than 300 engineers focusing on ultra high-voltage.

Xu Jianguo, chairman of Board of Directors of SEC said, “The partnership between SEC and AREVA expands both parties’ geographic coverage throughout China, with integrated manufacturing of transformers at different levels. Our cooperation with a completely new model that involves full scale cooperation and cross-region coverage represents a milestone demonstrating our vision and strategic thinking, as well as our  ambition and confidence in the China market. The establishment of a new joint venture in Lingang, which is included in the UHV project, is in line with the overall development strategy of Shanghai and is expected to be fully supported by the Shanghai government.”