Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) and Germany’s thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) have secured approval for their joint bid to construct six advanced conventional submarines for the Indian Navy.
Indian government-owned MDL confirmed the development in a disclosure statement last week.
“MDL confirms that the Commercial bid submitted by MDL has been opened by the Ministry of Defence for further processing,” the statement read.
The bid was accepted on technical grounds, edging out the proposal made by India’s Larsen & Toubro and Spain’s Navantia, The Hindu revealed, citing sources.
“The commercial negotiations will now commence based on the price quoted in the bid submitted,” the Indian outlet quoted a source as saying.
The benchmark price of the deal was 430 billion Indian rupees (around $5 billion) a decade ago.
The final cost is likely to see a significant hike, with some estimates suggesting it could go as high as 700 billion Indian rupees (around $8.55 billion).