GENEVA : Alstom SA is pinning its hopes on winning a multimillion-euro metro line project and a high-speed train agreement to help it establish a larger presence in Thailand.
The Valenciennes plant in northern France is among Alstom’s 10 factories in that country.
Henri Poupart-Lafarge, the senior vice-president for transport, said the French transport giant plans to double its Asian revenue to 1 billion euros (39.5 billion baht) annually within five years and needs to garner one major project each year to do so.
He said Alstom has been in talks with Bangkok Metro Plc about a project ranging from 300-500 million euros.
Although declining to reveal more details, Mr Poupart-Lafarge said once concluded it will be Alstom's first major project in Thailand for many years. The company has also been in close contact with Thai authorities concerning high-speed trains.
"We hope to sign a general agreement with the Thai government when the high-speed train project is launched," he said, adding that Alstom has much experience with high-speed trains.
While it lags German competitor Siemens AG in Thailand, Alstom is very active in Singapore, which houses the company's regional headquarters.
France's Bombardier has taken the lead in Malaysia.
Mr Poupart-Lafarge said Alstom is proposing tram projects in Singapore, Australia and China. Widely known in Europe, trams help ease traffic congestion in big cities.
It takes three years to complete tram construction in an Asean country, while a metro line would take 5-6 years.
Mr Poupart-Lafarge said Asia now contributes only 10% of Alstom's transport revenue worldwide, with two-thirds coming from Europe.
Poupart-Lafarge: One big project per year
"We will utilise two tactics _ one is continuous small contracts that bring us closer to customers, and the other is one large contract per year such as the Purple Line in Bangkok," he said.
With nearly 27,500 employees, Alstom counts 31 manufacturing sites globally including 10 in France.
The company recently inaugurated a new facility in Sri City, India, to build metro trains for the growing markets in India and Asia-Pacific.
The site supports the production of coaches for the Chennai Metro ordered in September 2010.
Alstom also operates a signalling engineering centre in Bangalore to service New Delhi and Jaipur that offers strong growth potential.
It has other plants in Brazil and Canada along with a joint venture to construct a facility in Algeria in the coming months.
At the 60th UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport exhibition in Geneva, Mr Poupart-Lafarge said the urban rail market has grown steadily the last five years, with annual growth of 10%.
And it will grow even faster as many cities in developed countries look to expand their mass transit systems, he said.
Cities in emerging economies are looking to implement new lines.
Mr Poupart-Lafarge pointed to urban rail's benefits to the local economy, increasing urban mobility, easing traffic congestion, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life.
Most of the world's inhabitants already live in cities, with the proportion reaching 60% by 2030.
"Rapid urbanisation increases the need for mobility, and half the cities in the world are not equipped with a public rail transport system," said Mr Poupart-Lafarge.