Drawn to India by an explosion in metro-rail projects, Alstom SA and Bombardier Inc are now poised to use the nation known for being the world’s back-office as a manufacturing export hub. 

The French and Canadian multinationals set up manufacturing and engineering operations between 2008 and 2010 to tap into India’s rapidly-growing urban transportation market and will now export to Australia, the Middle East and Asia from these facilities, company officials said.  

PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates total investments in subway projects will reach $230 billion in Asia over the next 15 years.  

AlstomBSE -0.04 % and Bombardier want to exploit India’s large pool of engineers and cheap skilled labor that have helped turn the nation into a key center for auto companies including Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. New export avenues such as metro rail systems are critical to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promised economic rejuvenation. Shipments from Asia’s third-largest economy must grow about 15 percent a year to ensure the pace of expansion needed to create sufficient jobs, according to Modi’s top economic adviser Arvind Subramanian.  

Sydney is going to be Alstom’s first project in Australia and it will supply railway coaches from India, said Bharat Salhotra, the company’s managing director for India and south Asia. “We will continue to look at India, not just for addressing the Indian market but for addressing markets beyond. Exports will continue to be on the radar.”

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