L&T, Nevantia join hands to bide for Indian Navy’s mega submarine acquisition programme

Larsen & Toubro and Spanish defence major Navantia on July 10 inked a ‘teaming agreement’ to jointly bid for the Indian Navy’s ₹43,000-crore contract for the procurement of six stealth submarines.

Larsen & Toubro and Spanish defence major Navantia on July 10 inked a 'teaming agreement' to jointly bid for the Indian Navy's ₹43,000-crore contract for the procurement of six stealth submarines.

The firming up of the pact came over a month after German defence major Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) signed a framework agreement to bid for one of the biggest defence acquisition projects under the 'Make in India' initiative.

"Larsen & Toubro and Navantia, Spain signed a Teaming Agreement (TA) today for the purpose of submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy's prestigious P75 (India) submarine programme," the L&T said in a statement.

The pact was signed at a ceremony in Delhi in the presence of, L&T CEO and Managing Director S. N. Subrahmanyan, Naval Construction Vice President and Member of the Board of Navantia Augustin Alvarez Blanco and Spanish envoy Jose Maria Ridao Dominquez.

The Defence Ministry is in the process of procuring the six domestically built conventional submarines for the Indian Navy under the Project-75 (India) programme.

The construction of the submarines would take place in India and is expected to have significant local content.

The submarines will be built under the much-talked-about strategic partnership (SP) model that allows domestic defence manufacturers to join hands with leading foreign defence majors to produce high-end military platforms to reduce import dependence.