Canada signals single winner in submarine bid
Canada’s defense minister said the multibillion-dollar submarine program is likely to go to a single supplier, narrowing the race between Korea’s Hanwha Ocean and Germany’s TKMS.
Royal Canadian Navy host the Korean KSS-III submarine, known as Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, and the ROKS Daejeon frigate during a welcome ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt in Esquimalt, British Columbia, on May 25.
AP/YONHAP
Canada's defense minister played down the prospect of dividing its next-generation submarine contract between Korean and German bidders, signaling that the program will go to a single supplier as a decision nears.
The comments by Minister of National Defense David McGuinty, reported by Canadian broadcaster CTV, address speculation that Canada might split the order for up to 12 submarines between Korea's Hanwha Ocean and Germany's TKMS.
"If you split a fleet of any kind, you end up in many ways with compounding costs. You need to service, you need to maintain, you need to sustain two different fleets. That's a more complicated matter for any country," McGuinty said from Tokyo, where he was taking part in a trade mission. "But we're evaluating all these things, and we'll see when we get there."
The remarks effectively reaffirm Canada's intent to choose one builder and a single submarine model. The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project calls for replacing the navy's aging Victoria-class boats with up to 12 diesel-electric submarines, with the construction cost and 30 years of maintenance and operation pushing the total toward 60 billion Canadian dollars ($42.2 billion).
Canada has said both finalists meet its performance requirements and that economic benefits will be the deciding factor, as it looks to rebuild domestic steel, aluminum, automotive and forestry industries hit by the tariff conflict with the United States.
According to CTV, Hanwha has pledged more than 70 billion Canadian dollars in economic effects, 96.3 billion Canadian dollars in GDP contribution and 430,000 jobs through 2044, while TKMS has promised 160 billion Canadian dollars in economic effects, 86 billion Canadian dollars in GDP contribution and more than 650,000 jobs.
Canada had been expected to name a preferred bidder by the end of June, though internal coordination has pushed the timeline back slightly. CTV reported that Prime Minister Mark Carney is likely to announce the decision before leaving for the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]
