The Amur Shipbuilding Plant in Russia’s Far East may receive the largest order for the construction of warships in its history, sources told Vedomosti.
According to a top manager in the industry and a person close to the Russian Defense Ministry, the parties are discussing the terms of a contract for the construction of up to 10 corvettes for the Pacific Fleet. Ten of these ships are valued at more than 180 billion rubles ($2.8 billion), and the signing of a firm contract may take place as early as 2021, one of the sources said.
The new order will allow loading the plant’s capacities for the next 12-14 years, the source said. This will preserve the plant, which plays an important role in equipping the forces of the Pacific Fleet, and will ensure the social stability of the urban area, which is dependent on this company.
According to a Vedomosti source close to the General Staff of the Russian Navy, the contracting of a new series of corvettes for this project will correct the existing bias in the surface forces of the Pacific Fleet. Out of about 50 ships, it has only two new corvettes received from the shipyard in 2017-2018.
The Amur Shipbuilding Plant is one of the most problematic of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) plants, Vedomosti wrote, but it was impossible to close it for socio-political reasons, a source in the government told the newspaper.
In 2012-2017, it was in dire financial straits and needed constant capitalization. Now the situation is improving, a person close to the military department said. At least, there was no sharp criticism of the Amur shipbuilders from Defense Deputy Minister Alexey Krivoruchko, who visited the plant in November 2019.
