Jay pitches to French – but Germany firms for subs
The ASC is likely to be wholly or partially sold off as Germany firms as the favourite to secure the lucrative future submarines project.
But Premier Jay Weatherill has offered a French shipbuilder bidding for the lucrative future submarines contract unfettered access to South Australia’s Techport facility as an incentive to build the vessels locally.
In Paris last week, Weatherill met with executives from French bidder DCNS, describing the talks as “encouraging”.
“They were very impressive,” he told InDaily.
“They understand the idea of sovereign autonomy – why a country would want to have it’s own submarine-building capability.”
He said he “offered the State Government’s asset of Techport to assist in securing a South Australian build”.
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“I offered it in the sense that it could be part of the infrastructure … I made it clear we were prepared to enter into an arrangement with the Commonwealth and any successful bidder to make that available,” he said.
“Obviously, we’d prefer to get some value for it … it’s a State Government asset (but) we’re prepared to have that discussion.”
Weatherill said he met with the French because he was in the country anyway for a climate change conference, but InDaily understands the German bid is firming as the Commonwealth’s preferred option.
The Premier concedes Germany has put a “very powerful proposition”.
Sources say part of that bid is to take over ASC, either whole or in part, which could see it split into separate submarine and ship-building divisions.
“If the German bid gets up it would make sense that they’d take that aspect of the business over,” a source said.
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“But really until we get through this period where there’s not much to sell, I don’t think that’s a serious contemplation … until it gets a book of work it’s got no value.”
Weatherill said his Government was “sanguine” about who won the contract, “provided they deliver building 12 new subs in Australia”.
The competitive evaluation process will consider the merits of building both here and overseas, and the Premier says DCNS have been “playing by the rules”.
“They haven’t been publicly campaigning for a (particular) proposition, but (an SA build) presents no difficulties for them at all,” he said.
“DCNS has built submarines in India, Malaysia, Brazil and Chile … the company can build them in South Australia and provide a long-term autonomous base.”
He said the company was “incredibly dismissive” of suggestions “they have some difficulty with the US combat system … and they say they have written advice from the US Navy which contradicts that”.
DCNS also argued against suggestions the competing Japanese model was more closely aligned to Australian specifications, arguing the Soryu class sub was “designed for relatively short missions, not long voyages”.
“Those are two propositions I’ve heard put to me at the highest levels of Commonwealth Government, and they say they’re directly rebutted by evidence,” Weatherill said.
A team of DCNS engineers and executives will visit Adelaide in coming weeks to further evaluate the state’s industrial and workforce capability.
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