No Additional Govt Funds To Complete First Lcs Hishammuddin

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Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today said ongoing construction of the first littoral combat ship (LCS 1) will not involve new allocations from the government.
At the same time, Hishammuddin said additional allocations for Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) to complete the remaining five LCS will only be considered after completion of LCS 1 in reportedly another two years, despite an initial targeted date in 2019. 
“The first ship will not involve injection of new funds,” Hishammuddin said during a press conference at Wisma Pertahanan in Kuala Lumpur today.
When asked whether more funds could be channelled to BNS for the remaining ships, including the sixth which has yet to begin construction, Hishammuddin said: “Maybe. But for me, prove that we can first complete the first ship.”
“If we can’t even do that, there is no point thinking of additional allocations,” he said after attending the Defence Ministry’s launch of its Merdeka month celebrations, as well as the Armed Forces Fund (LTAT)’s 50th anniversary. 
Present during the event today were Defence Forces chief Affendi Buang, army, navy and air force commanders and officers, as well as ministry staff. 
A Public Accounts Committee report on the project revealed a huge overrun in cost amounting to RM1.4 billion in the RM9 billion contract, with RM6 billion paid as of 2020.
A media tour of the LCS shipyard last week revealed that five of the six ships are under construction, with the first ship 60 percent complete as of April.
As for the remaining vessels’ completion rate, BNS chief executive officer Azhar Jumaat at the time reportedly said that LCS2 was 48 percent complete, followed by LCS3 (43 percent), LCS4 (36 percent), LCS5 (22 percent), while construction for LCS6 has not yet begun.
Earlier in his speech, Hishammuddin highlighted other defence assets procured by the navy, air force, and army in the last sixth months, including helicopters and airplanes.
“We are so busy with the LCS today that we forgot the Royal Malaysia Navy has received all four of their much-needed littoral mission ships,” he said. - Mkini

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