NEW DELHI – India to obtain 12 advanced minesweepers for the Navy after noheadway was seen in the sealing of a pact for a Rs 32,000 crore projectbetween the Goa Shipyard and the South Korean company. The Indian Navy isin dire need of minesweepers or mine counter-measure vessels to safegaurdthe country’s most important sea lanes in light of China stepping up on itsnaval activities in the Indian Ocean area as well as tense Indo-Sino ties.
“We will issue fresh EoI (Expression of Interest) for the project verysoon. It will be issued this month,” news agency PTI quoted Ltd RearAdmiral (retd) Shekhar Mital, Chairman of state-run Goa Shipyard as saying.
The shipyard had to cancel the discussions pertaining to the deal withKangnam Corporation after disagreements over several issues, including theterms and conditions for transfer of technology.
The EoI is possibly going to be issued to many foreign defence majors whichmanufacture these minesweepers.
According to the original understanding, the Goa Shipyard and the KangamCorporation were to manufacture 12 minesweepers in India under the Make inIndia initiative and were to deliver them within a time period of nineyears from the date the project began.
But both the parties could not come to an agreement on many key points inthe project.
A parliamentary standing committee on defence last year had slammed thegovernment for delay in procurement of the minesweepers and asked it tomake efforts to fill the gap in the Navy’s capabilities. The minesweeperships detect and destroy underwater mines and are considered vital forkeeping the critical sea lanes safe.