Frigate refurbishing contract in Romania, blocked due to lack of funding this year

Romanian state defense contractor Romtehnica cancelled a public tender procedure for refurbishing the King Ferdinand and Queen Mary frigates. The tender was initiated in March 2016 and had an estimated value of RON 839 million (EUR 181 million), VAT not included. Romtehnica said it cancelled the procedure due to lack of funds this year, local Profit.ro reported. The contract for refurbishing the frigates would have included an offset component, which means that the contractor would have had to subcontract some of the work to local companies. The Defense Ministry plans to include the refurbishing of the two frigates into a wider navy endowment program which also includes building four multi-role corvettes at a local shipyard. Romania’s defense minister promises to unlock projects to endow the Navy editor@romania-insider.com