A joint venture between Wärtsilä Engine and CSSC, known as CSSC Wärtsilä Engine (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (CWEC), has begun the ground-breaking process for its 20,000 sq m engine factory in Shanghai, China.

The factory will produce the Wärtsilä 26, Wärtsilä 32, Wärtsilä 34DF, and Wärtsilä 46F engines, with a planned capacity of 180 engines per year, mainly targeting China’s growing offshore and LNG segements. The first engines will be ready for delivery in 2016.

Speaking at a CWEC ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, Wu Qiang, CSSC president, said: "This is an important occasion for the shipping industry in China. The new factory will produce state-of-the-art marine engines that will serve our customers with value adding efficiencies. We are pleased to cooperate with Wärtsilä in this exciting joint venture.”

"It is an honour and a privilege to celebrate this latest milestone in our joint venture journey,” said Roger Holm, senior vp, Engines, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions. “By combining the strengths of our two companies - CSSC's strong capabilities as the number one ship builder in China and Wärtsilä's industry leading technologies, we can together make an important difference in today's challenging global marine market.”