LCS project will be back on track by June, says Khaled

 

Defence minister Khaled Nordin said once the first frigate reaches the 85% completion stage, it will undergo sea tests for two years.

KUALA LUMPUR: The navy’s troubled littoral combat ship (LCS) project is expected to be back on schedule by June, says defence minister Khaled Nordin.

The LCS project, said to be the largest defence procurement in Malaysia’s history with a total cost of RM9 billion, came under intense scrutiny in 2022 after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that not even one of the six ships had been completed – although Putrajaya had already paid RM6.08 billion.

The cost was revised from the initial RM9 billion to RM11.2 billion last May, with the navy also set to receive five units instead of the original six.

On Feb 29, PAC revealed that the LCS project was facing a 86-day delay as of last December.

Khaled Nordin.

At a press conference in Parliament today, Khaled said LCS 1 is 67.57% complete to date, 1% short of its target.

“The 1% delay will be rectified by June. By November, LCS 1 is expected to be 85% complete,” he said.

“Once LCS 1 is 85% complete, it will undergo tests such as the harbour acceptance test and the sea acceptance trial – which will take two years.”

Khaled said work on LCS 2 will be 78.17% completed by the end of 2024. At that time, LCS 3 will be at the 61.48% completion stage, LCS 4 at 53.40% and LCS 5 at 44.11%.

On another matter, Khaled said the current government has set aside more allocations for army veterans compared with the Perikatan Nasional administration.

“In 2021, the PN government allocated RM105.3 million to veterans, which was reduced to RM92.3 million in 2022,” he said.

“When the unity government took over, the allocation for the veteran affairs department was increased to RM118.4 million in 2023. For this year, it has been raised to RM279.2 million, an increase of 135%.” - FMT