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Dec 18 (Reuters) – Australia’s Austal said on Thursday it had won a government shipbuilding contract worth A$1.03 billion ($679.59 million).
The company’s unit, Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia, has been tasked to design and build 18 landing craft medium vessels at its Henderson shipyard in Western Australia, Austal said in a statement.
Construction of the first vessel is scheduled to commence in 2026, with the final vessel due for delivery in 2032.
Shares of the shipbuilder rose as much as 1.7% to A$6.04 after the announcement, before reversing course to trade down 0.4%.
The Australian government last week said that it would not oppose a proposal by South Korea’s Hanwha to nearly double its stake in Austal to 19.9% from 9.9%, but it would be constrained by strict conditions covering data access and security.
($1 = 1.5156 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
