Logo Polskiego Radia

Poland to expand navy

PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge 09.09.2013 09:33
The ministry of defence will push on with plans to expand Poland's navy in spite of spending cuts relating to the prospective budget amendment for 2013.

Polish
Polish minehunter: wikipedia

This week, the ministry will sign an agreement for the construction of the first of three minehunters, vessels which detect and destroy mines.

The ships, which are of the Kormoran II series, will be built in Gdansk, northern Poland, by the Remontowa Shipbuilding company in conjunction with local subcontractors including the Maritime Technology Centre (CTM) in Gdynia.

According to the Rzeczpospolita daily, the Kormoran II (Cormorant II) programme is worth about 1.2 billion zloty (280.2 million euro), and the first new minehunter is scheduled to be finished within two years.

The paper forecasts that the ministry will spend approximately 900 million zloty per year (210 million euro) over the next decade.

Besides the three minehunters, the ministry is commissioning three coastal defence vessels within its Miecznik (Swordfish) programme, as well as three smaller patrol vessels.

Three submarines are also in the pipeline, with German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp a possible contender for the contract.

Meanwhile, the ministry is scheduled to make significant spending cuts (3.146 billion zloty/739.9 million euro) in conjunction with the prospective budget amendment for 2013, after revised estimates indicated that budget revenues for this year will be 24 billion zloty less (5.64 billion euro) than previously forecast. (nh)

Print
Copyright © Polskie Radio S.A About Us Contact Us