€1.8 Billion Order Largest in Spanish Public Shipyards History
On 12 July the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a contract with Navantia for the construction of five corvettes. The €1.8 billion contract is the largest in the history of Spanish public shipyards with a foreign client, strengthens the immediate future of Navantia and will benefit all the shipyards of the company.
Navantia is a strategic company since it has capabilities, facilities and know-how considered essential for defence and national security. Its new strategic plan, which is fully supported by the workers’ representatives, will help to promote innovation and digital transformation projects aimed at strengthening competitiveness. The contract will benefit the company, the local industry with which it collaborates closely and the entire Bay of Cadiz area.
In negotiation since 2015, the contract will involve a global workload of around seven million hours for the shipyards of Bahía de Cádiz, Ría de Ferrol and Cartagena and their auxiliary industry. The programme will start in late 2018 and the last vessel will be delivered in 2022. In addition, Navantia will be responsible for life cycle support for five years from the delivery of the first vessel, with an option for an additional five years. An estimated 6,000 direct and indirect jobs will be generated annually. Of these, more than 1,100 will be direct employees, more than 1,800 employees of the Navantia’s auxiliary industry and over 3,000 indirect employees generated in other suppliers.
The corvettes will be based on the AVANTE 2200 design, adapted to the requirements of the Royal Saudi Arabian Navy, offering advanced features, including excellent behavior at sea, high survivability and operating capacity in the conditions extant in the Gulf, all within a controllable and optimised life cycle cost. The multi-purpose vessel is especially designed for surveillance and maritime traffic control missions, search and rescue missions and assistance to other ships, among others. In addition, the vessels will provide an important capacity for defence of strategic assets, intelligence gathering and anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, anti-surface and electronic warfare missions.
The design of the corvettes is state-of-the-art and incorporates Navantia’s indigenous products such as the CATIZ combat system, the HERMESYS integrated communications system, the DORNA firing control, the Integrated Platform Control System, the MINERVA integrated bridge and motors and gearboxes. The contract also includes the supply of various services such as integrated logistic support, operational and maintenance training, supply of training and training centres for the combat and platform control systems, life cycle support and shore-based maintenance support.
Navantia has also agreed the creation of a joint venture with Saudi state company Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI). This alliance benefits Navantia and allows the strengthening of defence programmes in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing its economy in line with the government’s Vision 2030. This joint venture is an exceptional opportunity to position Navantia’s technologically advanced solutions and integrated systems in the Saudi market and its area of influence, and is entirely consistent with the company’s internationalisation strategy.
