KUALA LUMPUR – The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) will receive its first littoral combat ship in 2025, said Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
He said he took an inclusive approach by engaging with all the stakeholders such as Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera and Boustead Holdings Bhd to address issues in the procurement of the ships.
He said the settlement initiatives outlined two main components, namely corporate restructuring and fundraising, which also involved discussions with the Finance Ministry and Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department.
“Currently, the Defence Ministry is in the final stages of the negotiation to prepare the recovery plan. Workshops involving all the stakeholders for the LCS recovery plan were also held to ensure comprehensive recovery recommendations before bringing these up again to the cabinet for approval and further action,” he said when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2022 at the policy level in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Hishammuddin said the government had agreed to approve the ships’ procurement application under the 10th Malaysian Plan and 11MP with a 10-year implementation period from October 3, 2013 to October 2, 2023.
However, he said as of October 31 this year, work progress for the ships is at 57.05% compared to the original work plan schedule of 96.57%.
Overall, the procurement experienced a delay of 39.52%, equivalent to 43 months, he added.
To a question from M. Karupaiya (PH-Padang Serai) on the increased cost of the ships due to the procurement delay, Hishammuddin assured that the government would not pay more than the sum agreed with Boustead. – Bernama, November 15, 2021
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