S. Korean firms bid for Canada's 60 trillion won submarine project

[Anchor]

A submarine project in Canada worth 60 trillion won has seen HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean enter the bidding competition.

Expectations for winning the contract have increased as it has been reported that Japanese companies, known as strong competitors, have opted out of the bidding.

Reporter Park Joong-kwan has the details.

[Report]

This is the Dosan Ahn Changho submarine, which was independently designed and built by South Korea.

It was commissioned in 2021, making South Korea the eighth country to independently develop submarines over 3,000 tons.

Based on this submarine construction capability, our shipbuilding industry is participating in the Canadian submarine project bidding.

Canada is pursuing a project to acquire 8 to 12 submarines of 3,000 tons.

The pure project cost exceeds 20 trillion won, and when including follow-up military support, it is a massive project worth 60 trillion won.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries participated in a security forum held in Canada, where they introduced a Canada-customized model equipped with lithium-ion batteries by modifying the design of the Dosan Ahn Changho class submarine of our navy.

[Lee Min-kyu/Manager of Cultural Promotion Department, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries: "HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has the capability to successfully carry out the Canadian submarine project, based on its experience in delivering numerous naval vessels both domestically and internationally and its advanced construction expertise."]

Since HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean were eliminated from the 10 trillion won surface ship bidding ordered by the Australian government, they plan to focus their efforts on this project.

[Jang Won-jun/Researcher, Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade: "A comprehensive effort will be needed, including government-led collaboration, consortium formation, customized design considering Canada's marine environment such as the Arctic, and support for building MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) capabilities for Canadian submarines..."]

The Canadian side has requested submarine-related information not only from South Korea but also from several other countries, and if the contract is awarded, it is expected to be signed by 2026 or 2027.

This is KBS News, Park Joong-kwan.