Malaysia to build $2.0b patrol vessels

Malaysia to build $2.0b patrol vessels

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia expects to award by June next year a contract worth more than five billion ringgit (US$2 billion) to build 27 offshore patrol vessels (OPV) for its navy, defense officials said yesterday.

Fourteen bids from international shipbuilders were being evaluated and six would be short-listed, local newspapers quoted Defense Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying in the north Malaysian island of Langkawi on Saturday.

His statement at the week-long Langkawi International Maritime Aerospace (LIMA) show was confirmed by Malaysian military officials contacted by Reuters.

Syed Hamid said the OPV program would be spread over 15 years and he had spoken to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about the urgency of awarding the contract as soon as possible.

"We will short-list six companies from the 14 and hope that it will be done soon, as the project is long overdue," the Sunday Star quoted him as saying.

He said a Malaysian company would be the prime contractor for the project and have four or five foreign partners.

The OPV program was proposed two years ago as the single largest defense procurement for Malaysia.

It involves the construction of 27 vessels of 80 meters in length, with a displacement of between 1,000 and 1,300 tons. The boats, to be fitted with advanced firepower, will be used to safeguard international waters.

Among the bidders reported for the project were German, Australian and American companies.

The contract to supply the naval vessels to the government is held by Malaysia's PSC Industries Bhd

Malaysian marine engineering firm Promet Bhd