Consortia to tender for A.N.Z.A.C. ship building

Press, 26 December 1987, Page 3

Consortia to tender for A.N.Z.A.C. ship building

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington Two consortia have been chosen to tender for the prime contract for the detail design and production of the A.N.Z.A.C. ships for the Australian and New Zealand Navies. They are the Australian Marine Engineering Corporation (A.M.E.C.) and Australian Warships Systems Pty. Ltd (A.W.S.). The two were chosen from six responses to invitations to register interest in the A.N.Z.A.C. ships that were received on November 30, 1987. New Zealand’s Minister of Defence, Mr Tizard, and Australia’s Minister of

Defence, Mr Kim Beazley, jointly announced the two consortia on Christmas Eve.

The selection is subject to finalisation of consortia arrangements that are acceptable to both Ministers, and Mr Tizard said that included participation by suitable New Zealand companies. The Ministers said the two consortia had. significant capability and experience in the fields of ship design, ship building, quality assurance, integrated logistic support, Australia and New Zealand industry involvement, and the management of sub-contracts

They were making the announcement as early as possible in the interests of maximising the chances to develop Australian and New Zealand industry involvement in the project. Recommendations for the selection of the two designs were expected to be ready by early February next year. The Ministers said they had confidence in the ability of the selected consortia to provide the strong and competitive basis to bid for the prime contract and to become the focal points for the development of Australian and New Zealand industry involvement.