CANBERRA, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Europe's largest shipbuilder has promised to list itself on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) if given a 27 billion U.S. dollar navy frigate contract.
Italy's Fincantieri on Thursday released the details of its bid for the 27.4 billion U.S. dollar Future Frigates project which will see nine new vessels built for the Australian Navy, the first of which will be launched in the late 2020s.
Fincantieri is one of three international companies bidding for the contract alongside Spain's Navantia and the Britain's BAE Systems, all of which are proposing different designs. A bid by Western Australia's Austal in partnership with South Australia's ASC is also in contention.
In a statement on Thursday, Dario Deste, chairman of Fincantieri Australia, said that in addition to being listed on the ASX the company would also enlist an Australian workforce to build the ships.
"This initiative allows Australian investor participation in Fincantieri Australia and ensures decisions will be taken locally and in the best interests of Australia," Deste said.
Fincantieri confirmed that it would open an Adelaide office in October and if the bid was successful it would send 150 Australian engineers and technicians to Italy in 2018 to train on the FREMM frigate project.
"This facility expands Fincantieri's operations into Adelaide as we mobilize Australian industry, activate the Adelaide shipyard with the proven digital tools used to build the Italian FREMM Frigates on time and on budget in Italy and recruit and train the Australian shipbuilding workforce for the project," Deste said.
