Naval authorities ink deal for acquiring a fresh fleet of submarines.
Thailand Resumes Submarine Procurement Project with Revised Agreement
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has signed a revised agreement with China's defence contractors to resume Thailand's project management of submarine procurement, marking a significant step forward in the country's naval capabilities.
The signing of the agreement took place at the headquarters of China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC) in Beijing on Tuesday, August 5, 2022. Adm Jirapol Wongwit, the commander-in-chief of the RTN, represented the government of Thailand, while Liu Song, the executive vice president of CSOC, signed on behalf of China.
The revised contract for Thailand's procurement of submarines allows for the continuation of construction of Yuan-class S26T submarines with significant changes. The most critical modification is the replacement of the German-made MTU396 diesel engine with a Chinese-made CHD620 diesel engine, due to restrictions imposed in 2021.
However, the price of the revised contract for the submarine procurement project has not been disclosed. The news about the signing was posted on RTN's official Facebook page on Thursday.
The construction deadline for the submarine procurement project has been extended by 1,217 days, or approximately 40 months, from the original timeline. Delivery of the first submarine is now scheduled for late 2028.
Interestingly, the revised contract does not mention any other changes to the original terms of the agreement or indicate any changes in the roles or responsibilities of the parties involved in the submarine procurement project. The search results do not contain information about the name of the Chinese government official who signed the revised agreement with the Royal Thai Navy on August 5, 2022, at the headquarters of China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co in Beijing. Therefore, this specific information cannot be provided based on the available data.
The submarine procurement project had been stalled due to a dispute over engine specifications. The resumption of the project with the revised agreement signifies a significant milestone in the strategic partnership between Thailand and China in the defence sector.
The original procurement contract for the submarine project was signed as a government-to-government deal in 2017 with a price tag of 13.5 billion baht. The signing of the agreement marks a resumption of the submarine procurement project, which had been on hold for some time.
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