Hyundai Heavy to build plant for power switchgears in Russia

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's leading shipbuilder, said Monday that it will start building a plant in Russia later this month that produces power switchgears.
The shipbuilder said it plans to spend around 40 billion won (US$37.7 million) on construction of the plant in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. The plant will produce so-called gas-insulated switchgears (GISs) starting in August 2012, the company said.
The conductors and circuit breakers in the GIS system are insulated by pressurized sulfur hexafluoride gas. Hyundai Heavy developed its own GIS system in 2001.
Hyundai Heavy said demand for GISs in Russia is expected to rise as the country is set to modernize its obsolete electricity supply system.
Hyundai Heavy expects its sales of GIS in Russia to reach 100 billion won by 2013, compared with 52 billion won worth of sales posted last year.
Last year, Hyundai Heavy also provided its GIS-related technology to a Taiwanese firm for around $9 million.