KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): The detailed design of the littoral combat ship (LCS) is 94% completed, which comprises the critical zone of the ship, according to deputy defence minister Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz.
Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 3), he said the 6% yet to be completed by contractor Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) is the non-critical zone of the ship.
He explained that the critical zone refers to the zone of the ship below the water surface, while the non-critical zone is the zone of the ship above the water level.
Of the critical zone, Ikmal Hisham said almost 100% of the detailed design has been completed.
In fact, he said the Naval Group, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the ships based in France, has approved 82% of the 94% detailed design completed by BNS as of November 2019.
“The Naval Group has also decided to send its technical team to audit the detailed design in October this year,” he added.
Ikmal Hisham was responding to Pasir Mas Member of Parliament Ahmad Fadhli Shaari’s enquiry on the progress of the design detail of the LCS project.
Ahmad Fadhi also sought an explanation on the RM6.08 billion that the government has paid to BNS, when not a single ship has been completed and the project delayed by three years.
Ikmal Hisham responded that the payment progress is not linked to the percentage of work progress. Rather, it is based on whether the activity and the contract for all ships can be executed, he said.
“Furthermore, the contract is also based on two currencies, the ringgit and the euro. Therefore, the payment was also paid according to the euro currency rate at that time.
“This ship is also built simultaneously to allow the ship to be completed within a 10-month interval between the first ship and the next.
“Thus, the progress of each ship needs to be paid for as work has begun and equipment needs to be purchased to be installed on the ships involved,” he said.
The government has agreed to give a period of six months to BNS for the mobilisation phase, starting from June 22 to Dec 21, to carry out negotiations with OEM and vendors involved in the procurement of the LCS project.
Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said on Sunday that the mobilisation phase has gone smoothly and is showing positive progress.
The construction of the LCS will only resume after the mobilisation phase, and Hishammuddin said he is optimistic that at least one LCS should be completed within two years.
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