BAE now able to invest £200 million in Clyde ‘Frigate Factory’

Now that Scotland has voted ‘NO’ and paved the way for further Ministry of Defence work in Scotland, the defence giant BAE have announced that the contract to build the £200 million frigate construction facility will be put out to tender next week.

According to STV, where this news first broke, this will happen within the next few days.

BAE Systems told STV they intend to press ahead with developing plans to build a new all-encompassing facility at the site which currently employs more than 700 staff. Sources at the yard say first stage of the process could happen as early as Monday.

A BAE spokesman said:

“We have been very open that Scotstoun would offer more benefits to our business and our customers. We continue to explore two options for manufacturing facilities investment in Glasgow, subject to consultation and MOD agreement.

The first, a single site strategy, involves consolidating all phases of the build process at Scotstoun where a new state-of-the-art complex warship manufacturing facility would be built. The second, a two-site strategy, involves extending and improving existing facilities at both Govan and Scotstoun. The construction of a new facility, as proposed under the single site option, would have a longer lead time than upgrading existing facilities as proposed under the two site option, hence the tender process for the single site option has commenced earlier.

There are no plans for a loss of jobs with either option.”

BAE Systems is also involved in several other major defence projects, including the F-35 Lightning II, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Astute-class submarine and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.