The Malaysian government has decided to retain state-affiliated Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) as the shipbuilder for the country’s troubled Maharaja Lela (Gowind)-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme.
Malaysia’s first-of-class LCS, pictured at its ceremonial launch in 2017. (Royal Malaysian Navy)
The decision was made on 5 May by a ministerial committee that was convened to examine options for the long-delayed programme, the country’s defence minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said in a statement on 7 May.
“The ministerial committee that convened on 5 May has agreed for the Boustead Group to proceed with work on the LCS programme, on which work has been halted since 2019,” Ismail said in his statement. “The ministerial committee has also stipulated the new conditions that the Boustead Group must abide by,” he added, without providing further details.
With this decision, the Malaysian government will soon issue a formal notice to BNS for work on the programme to resume, the minister added.
The LCS programme, which was formerly known as the Second-Generation Patrol Vessel (SGPV) project, was intended to equip the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) with a class of six frigates by 2023.
Malaysia selected a design variant of the Gowind family of corvettes from French shipbuilder Naval Group (then DCNS) for the LCS programme, and in December 2011 awarded BNS a MYR9.13 billion (USD2.1 billion) contract to build the six vessels, with technical assistance from Naval Group.
However, the programme is now facing a more than MYR1.4 billion (USD340 million) cost overrun, with the first of class yet to be delivered.
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