Seoul: The chief of South Korea's defense procurement agency said he forecasts a 50-50 probability of South Korea winning a major bid to supply naval submarines to Canada, saying Seoul has done its best and the die has been cast.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the assessment by Lee Yong-cheol, chief of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), came as a South Korean consortium is vying with Germany's Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems to win orders for all 12 submarines to be commissioned by Canada. "The chances are 50-50, and of course, I don't know the answer," Lee told defense press corps reporters Thursday. "We have done our best and will wait until the result comes out."
As part of efforts to win the project, valued at around 60 trillion won (US$40 billion), relevant government ministries, including the defense, foreign, and industrial ministries, as well as the Navy, and defense firms Hanwha Ocean Co. and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., signed an official document last month confirming government support for the bid.
Lee still recalled his meeting with senior Canadian officials who visited South Korea as showing great interest in the operation and maintenance of submarines.