The Canada Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), valued at up to 60 trillion won, could be partitioned and awarded to Korea and Germany, according to a forecast.
On the 3rd (local time), the Canadian daily Globe and Mail reported, citing government sources, that the Canadian government is reviewing a plan to place orders for six submarines each with Korea's Hanwha and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS).
The plan would deploy six Type 212CD submarines built by Germany's TKMS along the Atlantic coast and assign six KSS-III Batch-II submarines from Hanwha Ocean to the Pacific coast or the Indo-Pacific region.
The Globe and Mail said, "Government sources noted that the decision on whether to use partitioning for the contract will be assessed based on the country's economic and military needs," adding, "If the contract is partitioned, Canada could gain industrial benefits from both countries (Korea and Germany), including potential investments in the automotive sector."
The CPSP is a major project to build up to 12 diesel submarines to replace the four Victoria-class submarines slated to retire in the mid-2030s.
As a consortium of Korea's Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Germany's TKMS compete in the final round for the order, the winning bidder could be selected as early as June this year.
Canada, seeking investment in the automotive sector to strengthen its domestic manufacturing base, is known to have proposed that Korea establish a local Hyundai Motor plant and that Germany add facilities for Volkswagen.
Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty, at a joint press conference held after the signing of the Korea-Canada military and defense classified information protection agreement last month, emphasized the fairness of the bidding process, saying, "We want to confirm that this bid will proceed independently and objectively."