TAUBATE, Brazil 3/9/12 (PennWell) -- Alstom has placed the cornerstone of its new Global Technology Centre for Latin America.

The facility, located with Alstom's largest hydro factory in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, was announced in November 2011 and is scheduled for completion in mid-2013.

Alstom says the center will include a state-of-the-art test stand for turbine models and will allow for partnerships with several Brazilian universities.

Included amongst Alstom's partner institutes are Unifei (Federal University of Itajuba) and Unesp (State University of Sao Paulo), both of which will receive funding for doctor's and master's degrees related to the hydroelectric market.

Alstom already has similar centers in Grenoble, France; Baroda, India; Birr, Switzerland; and Sorel-Tracy, Canada, but the company says the Brazil center is the only one to include turbine, generator, governor, command and control, hydromechanical and lifting equipment research capabilities in one location.