Alstom may take stake in power projects

French power equipment maker Alstom today said it may acquire some stake in generation projects as part of its efforts to expand India operations and double turnover from the power business to about Rs 2,200 crore in the next two-three years.

"We are in final stages of negotiations with the Torrent group for their 1000 MW project in Gujarat. We are also discussing acquiring some stake in the project," Phillippe Joubert,  executive vice-president of Alstom, said today.

Alstom could take minority equity in projects to which it supplies equipment or build the power plant on turnkey basis, he said, but refused to say how much stake, if any, the company would acquire.

The power major, which was bailed out of financial trouble by the French government last year, has about 27 billion euro order backlog at present, and is gearing up to invest about 50-60 million euro globally every year.