November 16 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian shipyard MTG Dolphin has met the technical and financial criteria for the implementation of the government project for acquisition of a new multi-functional modular patrol ship for the country's Navy, the defence ministry said.
The technical proposals submitted by MTG Dolphin meet and considerably exceed the set technical specifications of the project, the defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The quality of project execution and the transfer of high technology are ensured by Dolphin's framework agreements with five leading companies, whose products are established brands on the world market," the ministry said.
The five companies are Thales with its units in France, Germany and the Netherlands, Germany's Diehl Defence, Italian defence technology company Leonardo, France-based missile systems manufacturer MBDA and Germany-based defence firm Rheinmetall.
The investment project for acquisition of two multi-functional modular patrol ships for the Bulgarian Navy has an estimated maximum value of 820 million levs ($493.9 million/419 milion euro) and should be completed over a period of five years. The project was endorsed by Bulgaria's parliament in June 2016.
The Bulgarian Navy needs to acquire a new type of multi-purpose modular patrol ship in order to be able to take part in a wide range of NATO and EU operations at sea, the ministry said.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)