TSAMTO, December 30. On December 28, Philippine Minister of National Defense Delphine Lorenzana signed a contract with the leadership of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the supply of two new corvettes to the Philippine Navy during a virtual ceremony.
According to the Philippine newspaper Business Mirror, the contract value was 28 billion filip. pesos ($551 million). Details of the sale, including the specification and delivery dates of the ships, have not yet been disclosed.
As reported by TSAMTO, on December 10, the Ministry of Budget and Management of the Philippines published a special order on the allocation of funds (SARO) to make an advance payment for the purchase of new corvettes for the Philippine Navy.
Allocation of 3.75 billion filip. pesos ($74.5 million) allowed the Philippine Ministry of Defense to conclude a contract with the contractor for the supply of ships under the CAP (Corvette Acquisition Project) and make an advance payment in the amount of 15% of the cost. Notification of the award of the contract based on the results of the competition was sent to HHI on December 15.
South Korean Hyundai Heavy Industries was initially considered the favorite of the tender, as it had already built two Jose Rizal-class frigates for the Philippine Navy. In November 2019, HHI and the Philippine Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding in support of the corvette supply program. The Philippine Navy Command also recommended signing a new contract with HHI, as this will ensure the unification of equipment and expand the possibilities of interaction.
Initially, it was expected that initial funding would be provided in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the allocation of funds became possible only now.
The CAP project provides for the supply of two modern corvettes designed for anti-ship, anti-submarine and air defense, as well as weapons systems for them.
It is assumed that the design of the Philippine Navy corvette will be based on the HDC-3100 platform. The length of this ship is 114 m, displacement - 3100 tons. The project is an improved version of the HDF-2600 frigate, which have already been sold to the Philippine Navy and are in service under the name "Jose Rizal".
During the ceremony, D. Lorenzana said that corvettes will not be the last project of President R. Duterte. In particular, next month the Ministry of National Defense plans to sign contracts for the supply of 32 Black Hawk helicopters worth 32 billion filip. pesos and six patrol boats worth 30 billion Philip. pesos.
