PENGERANG – The construction of the littoral combat ships (LCS) is expected to resume early next year pending negotiations with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other vendors.
Navy Chief Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany said the negotiations under the mobilisation process will conclude in December.
“As far as I know, negotiations with OEMs and vendors went well. We expect the LCS construction to resume early next year,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama after a navy event in Tg Pengelih, here today.
“The navy is consistent about its immediate need for the LCS.”
Previously, then defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the first LCS was expected to be completed in two years.
The mobilisation phase started in June, involving talks between OEMs and Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS).
He added that BNS is to present the final negotiations to the project monitoring committee, which is co-chaired by the Finance Ministry’s treasury chief secretary and the Defence Ministry’s chief secretary.
It will also be presented to the cabinet.
Meanwhile, Reza said some of the spare parts for six of the new generation patrol vessels built 10 years ago are no longer available.
“The time has come for us to update the systems on these ships, such as sensor systems and weapon systems. However, all these processes are subject to the allocation provided.”
He said most of the navy assets need to be upgraded or new ones acquired as some of them are more than 40- to 50-years-old.
“The procurement of new (navy) ships is critical, in order to produce competent navy people. (So) any planning at all, should be based on the allocation.”
The RM9 billion LCS scandal saw payments made for incomplete work with none of the six ships delivered to date.
Former navy chief Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor, who is the former managing director of BNS, the company contracted to deliver the LCS to the government, was charged on August 16 with fraudulently approving RM21.08 billion in payments to three different firms without board approval while he helmed the company. – The Vibes, October 29, 2022
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