Frigates ‘catalyst for development’

Press, 6 September 1989, Page 3

Frigates ‘catalyst for development’

By

NIGEL MALTHUS

The Anzac frigates project would be a catalyst for Canterbury’s industrial and technological development, says the Canterbury Regional Development Council. The chairman, Mr Ivan Jamieson, said the council was keen to support New Zealand participation, and assist Canterbury businesses seeking contracts in the building programme. “The council sees the Anzac frigate project as a normal and legitimate part of the equipment renewal programme of the New Zealand defence forces, and believes that full weight should be given to the considered submissions of senior naval officers in the selection of these vessels. “The council understands that the Navy had considered 23 different

options before arriving at its decision in favour of the joint Australia/New Zealand venture,” he said. The council, a Govern-ment-funded body aimed at assisting economic development in the region, threw its weight behind the frigates project after discussing it at a meeting on Monday. It said the project would provide substantial opportunities for a wide range of Canterbury businesses, through the construction and routine servicing of the vessels, through their 30-year lives.

Not just engineering firms/, but suppliers of otherj componentry, equipment, and furnishings would be able to tender fpr work, many of them Supported by the technological input of Canterbury’s educational and research institutions.